3 December 2011
Campaigning began Saturday for this month’s legislative election in war-weary Ivory Coast, boycotted by the party of toppled leader Laurent Gbagbo who faces charges of crimes against humanity.
A low-key start marked the day in Abidjan, the economic capital of the world’s top cocoa producer ravaged by low-level civil war and ensuing political unrest.
The December 11 polls are being boycotted by Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front party and its allies in protest against his arrest and transfer to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Nearly 1,000 candidates are in the fray for the 255 parliamentary seats.
Gbagbo will face the world war crimes court for the first time Monday for his role in the deadly aftermath of disputed polls last year in which some 3,000 people died.
Facing four counts namely murder, rape, persecution and other inhuman acts committed by forces loyal to him between 16 December 2010 and 12 April, Gbagbo is now behind bars at ICC’s detention unit.
The court issued a sealed arrest warrant against him on November 23 for his part in the post-poll crisis which was sparked by his refusal to step down in favour of his opponent, now Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.
ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Gbagbo was the first to be brought to account, but that “there is more to come.”
Troops loyal to Ouattara are suspected of attacking civilians in Abidjan and western Ivory Coast, particularly in the town of Duekoue. – ANP/AFP
AllAfrica – All the Time