Côte d’Ivoire / UNOCI Head hands over electoral material to IEC Chair
ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire, November 15, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Côte d’Ivoire, Bert Koenders, handed over electoral material on Monday 14 November 2011 to the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). The material, comprising 15,000 voting booths and 5,000 ballot boxes, arrived on Sunday by air. It is part of heavy electoral material financed by Côte d’Ivoire’s external partners, in particular the European Union (EU).
Speaking during a brief ceremony at the Groupement aérien de transport et de liaison (GATL – Air Transport and Liaison Group) airbase, the Special Representative stressed the importance of the moment which, he said, “brings us closer to the objective, that of holding the legislative elections on 11 December next”. Mr. Koenders reiterated the availability of the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) and the international community to face up to the challenges. In that regard, he reassured the Ivorian Government and the IEC that all arrangements had been made by UNOCI, the agencies of the UN System and the entire international community to meet the technical and logistical challenges inherent to the organisation of open, free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections.
“Our teams are working around the clock to ensure the distribution of the material wherever it is needed,” he said, adding that such efforts would be renewed until the end of the electoral process. “That will allow Côte d’Ivoire to have a new parliament in keeping with the legitimate aspirations of its leaders and population,” Mr. Koenders said. In the same vein, he announced that sensitive electoral material, including 22,000 litres of indelible ink and 22,500 electoral kits, would be arriving very soon.
Similarly, the chargé d’affaires of the EU delegation in Côte d’Ivoire, Yves Gillet, assured that the EU, which was a technical and financial partner at the presidential election, would continue its efforts for the legislatives.
For his part, the Chairman of the IEC expressed his gratitude to the Special Representative, noting that UNOCI was once again demonstrating its commitment to accompany the electoral process resolutely.
Recalling the publication on 10 November of the list of approved candidates for the legislatives, he said the receipt of the material was the second major phase in the preparations for the polls. “These two major events and phases enable the IEC to have, following the establishment of the voters’ roll, two other inputs that are indispensable for achieving the objective of 11 December 2011,” Mr. Bakayoko said.
The Special Representative of the Facilitator of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, Bouréima Badini, also attended the ceremony.
SOURCE
Mission of UN in Côte d’Ivoire
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