IVORY Coast’s army-led government should follow the recommendations of the country’s electoral commission and push back the date of a planned presidential election to October because ”preparations were behind schedule”, a senior minister said. The National Electoral Commission (NEC) has asked the government to postpone the election to October 15 or 22 from September 17. Army ruler General Robert Guei has promised a return to civilian rule with a presidential election, followed by parliamentary elections on October 29. Government sources said one major reason for delaying the election was that electoral rolls had not been brought up to date. The new constitution approved in July lowered the voting age to 18 from 21, but only 250 000 people between 18 to 20 have registered, well below the 800 000 to one million believed to be eligible. – Reuters