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Democracy News
Gbagbo Appears Before ICC; Presidential Party Wins Majority in Cote d’Ivoire Parliamentary Election
December 15, 2011
By: Randi Zung | Printer Friendly
On December 5, former Cote d’Ivoire strongman Laurent Gbagbo appeared before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on charges of four crimes against humanity that took place during the country’s heavily disputed November 2010 presidential election upheaval. According to BBC News, approximately 3,000 people died during the four month long post-election violence that occurred when Gbagbo refused to accept defeat. The ICC’s chief prosecutor, Louis Moreno-Ocampo, said Gbagbo’s transfer to The Hague will allow the Court to prosecute him for additional crimes that have been committed under this control of Cote d’Ivoire.
While appearing before the Court, Gbagbo complained that he had been kidnapped, the New York Times reported. Gbagbo originally appeared at a local court in the city of Korhogo, but during the proceedings he was served with an international arrest warrant summoning him to The Hague.
Gbagbo’s appearance before the Court came just days before Cote d’Ivoire’s legislative elections, the first election since the 2010 presidential election. On December 9, in a press release, the United States Department of State called on voters to “respect the democratic process” and appealed for peace during the polls. It was additionally announced that voting would be monitored by several international missions, including ones from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union, the Carter Center, and the United Nations.
Following the election, AFP reported that President Alassane Ouattara's Rally of Republicans (RDR) party was very close to winning an outright parliamentary majority. With 228 of the 255 seats counted, the RDR had won 123 and ally party, Ivory Coast Democratic Party (PDCI), had won 93. Commenting on the victory, RDR Secretary General Amadou Soumahoro stated, “We have shown once more that the RDR is a political force that cannot be ignored.” Commenting on the nature of the poll, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the vote was "peaceful and orderly," and said it should help with the reconciliation process in the country. Similarly, ECOWAS evaluated the election as being free and fair.
For previous news on Cote d’Ivoire, please see:
Côte d'Ivoire Working Towards Reconciliation
Sources:
BBC News – Ivory Coast’s Laurent Gbagbo appears at ICC in Hague
AFP - I.Coast president's party close to outright majority
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