The European Union’s executive commission said on Thursday that it has decided to provide €7,9-million to support preparations for planned elections in Côte d’Ivoire.
”These elections represent a crucial stage for reconciliation in the country,” EU development commissioner Louis Michel said in a statement.
The aid is earmarked for helping display and correct electoral rolls, training officials, information and electoral education campaigns, purchasing equipment, logistics and computer systems, and the deployment of observers.
The commission warned: ”Project implementation will be staggered, each phase being conditional upon compliance with certain measures or steps designed to ensure that the elections are in line with international standards for free and fair elections.”
Côte d’Ivoire, a major agricultural producer and the world’s number-one exporter of cocoa, has been effectively cut in two since a revolt by army officers from the predominantly Muslim north in September 2002.
President Laurent Gbagbo’s mandate as president runs out at the end of October, but many observers think that the continuing violence, and the problems involved in implementing a South African-mediated peace plan, could mean the date being pushed back. — Sapa-AFP