Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Abijan (Agenzia Fides) - “Now that the elections dates have been made public, we ask that the people of Ivory Coast begin working peacefully in preparation for the elections, that they may be clean and honest.” This was the exhortation made on behalf of the Bishops of the Ivory Coast, by Archbishop Barthelemy Djabla of Gagnoa, Vice-President of the Bishops’ Conference, at the close of a meeting held with Henri Konan Bedie, President of the Democratic Party of the Ivory Coast (PDCI) and one of the candidates running for president in the elections scheduled to take place November 30. The date for elections, which has changed several times, was finally announced April 14, following an extraordinary meeting of the government and the candidates have been determined: President Laurent Gbagbo, Premier Guillaume Soro, and the two main leaders of the opposition, Konan Bedie and former Premier Alassane Outtara. The latter two have asked Prime Minister Soro to be “a disinterested third party in organizing the elections,” according to a statement from the government.
The communication of the elections date has been positively received by citizens, who see it as a decisive moment in the country’s process of stabilization, which began with the treaties of Ouagadougou in March 2007 (see Fides 5/3/2007) and call for elections at the beginning of 2008. They have been postponed in order to allow ballot registrations to be specially counted by the National Statistics Institute and a French company that will issue the new documents with a form of electronic identity.
The Catholic Church has also expressed its perspective on the announcement of elections. “This is reassuring for us,” Archbishop Djabla said. The Vice-President of the Ivory Coast Bishops’ Conference pointed out that the Church is at the service of the entire population, whether they be Christians or of other religions, and said that the Bishops had wanted to meet with the President of the PDCI to offer their suggestions in the peacekeeping effort. The Bishops have already met with Alassane Ouattara and Premier Soro.
Archbishop Djabla also mentioned that as a divine institution the Church cannot enter into political questions, however it does have the duty to intervene in order to help the country’s leaders to respect man’s rights and the dignity of each human being, created in God’s image.
The Ivory Coast is emerging from the most serious crisis in its history that began in September 2002 when, following a coups d’etat, the country was split in two: the northeast (run by the rebels of “New Forces”) and the rest, under the control of President Gbagbo. The conflict was finally resolved through international intervention. Only with the treaties signed in Ouagadougou has there begun a return to a normal state of affairs. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 16/4/2008; righe 37, parole 456)
