Ivorian Voters List Ready End Of 2009: UN
The
United Nations has said a final list of voters for Ivory Coast's election, meant
to take place on November 29, will not be ready until the end of the year.
Election organisers have not yet officially postponed the vote and the UN has
only just begun ferrying provisional lists to be checked at polling stations.
One million voters must also still prove their eligibility, underscoring deep
tensions over nationality despite efforts to end a seven-year crisis.
The poll, which is meant to seal a peace and reunification process after a
2002-2003 war, has already been delayed five times since 2005.
A successful vote should allow for key reforms of the cocoa sector and a jump in
investment.
Stages On Tuesday, lists with the names of 5.3 million registered voters were
handed over to the UN peacekeeping mission for distribution to nearly 11,000
polling stations, where they must be displayed and checked by voters and
officials.
U.N.'s special representative in Ivory Coast, Young-Jin Choi, said the
verification would span at least 38 days.
Head of the election commission, Robert Beugre Mambe, said that a second list
would be drawn up of the estimated 1 million names. Those on the second list
will have to prove their eligibility to election officials in order to vote.
Once the final lists are agreed upon, voter cards will have to be printed and
handed out before a poll can take place.
Every stage of Ivory Coast's election process has been delayed so far.
REUTERS/Yinka
