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Gbagbo Adviser Rejects Calls for President to Step Down

   Peter Clottey 08 December 2010
   Incumbent  President  Laurent  Gbagbo, center, gestures during a photo
   opportunity  with  his  newly-named cabinet, with Prime Minister N'Gbo
   Gilbert  Marie  Ake,  front  left, at the presidency in Abidjan, Ivory
   Coast, Dec 7, 2010

Photo: AP

   Incumbent  President  Laurent  Gbagbo, center, gestures during a photo
   opportunity  with  his  newly-named cabinet, with Prime Minister N'Gbo
   Gilbert  Marie  Ake,  front  left, at the presidency in Abidjan, Ivory
   Coast, Dec 7, 2010

   A  special  advisor  to  Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo told VOA the
   embattled  leader  will not hand over power, despite calls to do so by
   the   international  community,  including  leaders  of  the  Economic
   Community  of  West  African  States  (ECOWAS), following the disputed
   presidential run-off vote.

   Ambassador  Yao  Gnamien  described the ongoing political impasse as a
   constitutional  controversy  which  can  âeasilyâ  be resolved through
   dialogue  between  Mr.  Gbagbo  and  former  Prime  Minister  Alassane
   Ouattara, the declared winner of the 28^th November run-off vote.

   âIt  happened in the United States (presidential election) in the year
   2000 and (they) solved the problem with their legal system. That means
   that youâve got a controversial election and the Supreme Court decided
   who was the winner,â said Ambassador Gnamien.

   âIn  our  case,  we  can  say  our  election was a controversy and the
   Constitutional  Court  decided  that  the  winner is President Laurent
   Gbagbo. Like in any democracy, the final result is given by the court.
   This is what happened in our country.â

   ECOWAS  issued a statement following a meeting of seven regional heads
   of state in Nigeriaâs capital, Abuja, Tuesday calling on Mr. Gbagbo to
   step down âimmediatelyâ and hand over power to Mr. Ouattara.

   Several  international observers, including the United Nations and the
   U.S.  -  based  Carter  Center,  declared the run-off vote as free and
   fair.

   But,  Ambassador  Gnamien  said the countryâs Constitutional Court has
   the  mandate  to  declare  the  winner,  despite  the electoral bodyâs
   pronouncement to the contrary.

   âOut of the 16 heads of state who are members of the ECOWAS, only four
   were  present.  I  think that it is a signal that means that those who
   didnât attend donât think that the decision was a good decision,â said
   Ambassador Gnamien.

   The  head  of  ECOWAS,  Nigerian President Jonathan Goodluck, said the
   group  is  not interested in a negotiated unity government saying such
   arrangements in other countries like Kenya or Zimbabwe did not work.

   Meanwhile,  the  top  U.N. envoy in Ivory Coast says there is no doubt
   that Mr. Ouattara won last month's presidential election.

   Speaking  at  a  news  conference in Abidjan Wednesday, Choi Young-jin
   said  the  Ivorian  people chose Mr. Ouattara as their president by an
   "irrefutable margin."

   The  comments  intensify  the  international pressure on Mr. Gbagbo to
   step down and hand over power to his opponent.

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