France, US urge peace in Ivory Coast poll

3 Dec 2010, 11:55 am   -   Source: AAP
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French President calls on Ivory Coast leaders to close the electoral process peacefully and US President has called for respect for poll vote.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called on Ivory Coast leaders to bring the electoral process to a close in a peaceful manner, a statement from the president's office says.

The "electoral process, which started so well, should finish quickly in a calm and open atmosphere" so Ivory Coast could enjoy "a new era of peace and prosperity," said the statement on Thursday.

Sarkozy's statement came soon after the Ivorian army announced it had closed the country's borders until further notice and ordered foreign news broadcasts shut down amid continuing turmoil over the presidential election results.

"It is now for the Constitutional Council to proclaim the definitive results in strict respect for the clearly expressed will of the Ivorian people," the statement added.

Failing that, the UN's special representative there would not certify the results, the statement added.

"The president elections in Ivory Coast has so far been conducted in conditions which do honour to Ivorian democracy," the statement continued, praising the work of the electoral commission.

Earlier, the United States urged all parties to respect the results of the Ivory Coast presidential election said to have been won by former prime minister and opposition leader Alassane Ouattara.

"The United States calls on all parties to respect the results of (Ivory Coast's) November 28 election as announced today by the Independent Electoral Commission," White House official Mike Hammer said in a statement.

"Credible, accredited electoral observers have characterised the balloting as free and fair, and no party should be allowed to obstruct further the electoral process," Hammer said.

The Constitutional Council had also issued an announcement that provisional results showed Alassane Ouattara had beaten President Laurent Gbagbo in the disputed polls by 54 to 46 per cent.

Paul Yao N'Dre, the head of the council, which has the final say on elections, rejected the results as invalid.

The announcement had no standing because the commission had over-run the legal deadline for releasing its results, said N'Dre, an ally of Gbagbo.

Earlier on Thursday, France's foreign office revised its travel advisory, recommending that people defer voyages to Ivory Coast because of fears of unrest.

France, which is the former colonial power in Ivory Coast, also advised its citizens in the country to respect the curfew imposed by Gbagbo.

The polls aim to end a decade of instability in Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer.

But the results had been delayed amid accusations of cheating by both sides, though the United Nations mission said the election was sound overall.

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