Opposition parties on Monday criticised the government for not recognising Alassane Ouattara’s victory in presidential elections in Côte d’Ivoire last week.
“The Democratic Alliance [DA] must register our disappointment with the Zuma administration’s studied reticence on the matter of this disputed election,” DA spokesperson Kenneth Mubu said in a statement.
He said he would write to International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane asking her to follow the United States and European Union in recognising Ouattara as the victor.
The outcome is heatedly contested by outgoing president Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step aside. Both Gbagbo and Ouattara have sworn themselves in as president.
Disappointed
The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) said it was disappointed by the South African government’s decision to await the outcome of an African Union meeting before declaring its position on the elections.
“The South African government must acknowledge the electoral commission’s decision, supported by independent observers, that opposition leader Alassane Ouattara has won the elections in Côte d’Ivoire, and ask Gbagbo to step down,” ACDP leader Kenneth Meshoe said.
“Their ‘wait and see’ attitude is a symptom of cowardice on the government’s part and is not helping the democratic choice of the people of Côte d’Ivoire.”
International mediators are trying to settle the stand-off between Gbagbo and his old rival Ouattara amid fears of renewed civil war in the West African nation.
Among them is former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who was dispatched to Abidjan by the AU on Sunday.
After Mbeki held emergency talks with the two, Ouattara called on the mediator to demand Gbagbo quit, as his own allies declared they had formed a new government.
‘Very serious’ crisis
Mbeki met with the two rivals in Abidjan, the country’s main city.
Ouattara told reporters after talks with Mbeki: “I asked him to ask Laurent Gbagbo not to hang on to power … to quit power, as you should when you lose an election.”
The political crisis “is obviously very serious”, Mbeki told reporters.
“Among other things, it’s important not to have violence, not to return to war and so on, to find a peaceful solution.”
Côte d’Ivoire was split in two between north and south by a civil war in 2002 and 2003. The November 28 vote was supposed to stabilise the country, which was once the most prosperous in West Africa.
But it was plunged into turmoil when the Constitutional Council invalidated results announced by the Independent Electoral Commission that gave Ouattara a win with 54,1% of the vote and proclaimed Gbagbo the winner with 51,45%.
The streets of Abidjan were quiet on Sunday, but at least 17 people have been killed since last week. — Sapa, AFP