Yay For A New Government!

According to BBC News, "The new head of the independent electoral commission was selected after late night discussions between the opposition, ex-rebels and allies of the president." This statement was made two days after a new unifying government was announced. The BBC's reporter John James, reporting from Abidjan says, "for the opposition, the selection of the commission's head was key to bringing stability after two weeks of protests in which at least seven people were killed."

"Ivory Coast's Prime Minister Guillaume Soro announced a new unity government late Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the president unilaterally dissolved the last one, setting off deadly protests across the country. The announcement of a new government capped 48 hours of crisis negotiations, in which Burkina Faso's president Blaise Compaore flew in to mediate discussions between President Laurent Gbagbo and the opposition parties."

Early on Friday, authorities announced the new election commission. It's now being headed by a member of the opposition and has the difficult task of preparing the long delayed elections. Out of the new 27-member cabinet, senior opposition leader, Alassane Ouattara told reporters that the opposition group will take 11 seats. Mr Ouattara also said the opposition was "suspending all demonstrations".

If you recall from my previous posts, Robert Mambe was accused of fraudulently trying to add 429,000 names to the electoral roll. Mambe was from the opposition, Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI). He was forced to step down. The new leader, Youssouf Bakayoko, "who until a fortnight ago was foreign minister, also comes from the PDCI, though he will now have to abandon all political activity." John James says, "despite two weeks of violent protests, destruction and instability not seen in Ivory Coast for several years, the political scene looks very much as it did before. The new government will include almost all the same names in the same places as the previous government, and the independent electoral commission remains much the same."

At least five protesters were killed in Gagnoa and another two in Abidjan during violent protests that have occurred in the last week alone. Soro hopes that the new government will still the protests. "Ivory Coast is going through some difficult moments," Soro said. "I call upon everyone to keep their calm." The objective of the new government, according to Sorro "is to organize elections with haste." Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore said with the formation of the new government, elections will likely be held in late April or early May.

Most of the newspapers i read were all consistent in their reporting this time. BBC, once again, seemed to provide the most articles and information about the conflict. I was surprised to find an article about it in an Arkansas newspaper. The Tehran Times, Phillyburbs, and a Swiss newspaper also had small articles about it. That shows that it was a major decision and was worth reporting. There are many more newspapers that reported this news in different parts of the world. The one's i have read all seem pretty consistent and reported the straight facts.

Works Cited:

"BBC News - Ivory Coast Agrees on New Electoral Commission." BBC NEWS News Front Page. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8538365.stm>.

"BBC News - Ivory Coast Opposition to Join New Unity Government." BBC NEWS News Front Page. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8540116.stm>.

"John James -." Journalisted.com. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. <http://journalisted.com/john-james>.

"Abidjan.net Qui Est Qui? - Profil De Youssouf." Abidjan .net Moteur De Recherche Multim. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. <http://www.abidjan.net/qui/profil.asp?id=748>.

"Alassane Ouattara -." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alassane_Ouattara>.

"PhillyBurbs.com:." PhillyBurbs.com:. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. <http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/292/2010/february/23/ivory-coasts-pm-announces-new-unity-government.html>.

"Ivory Coast Announces New Electoral Commission - Swissinfo." Swissinfo - Swiss News and Information Platform about Switzerland, Business, Culture, Sport, Weather. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. <http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/Ivory_Coast_announces_new_electoral_commission.html?cid=8372642>.

"Ivory Coast’s PM Announces New ’unity’ Government." Arkansas Online. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. <http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2010/feb/23/ivory-coasts-pm-announces-new-unity-government/>.

"Tehran times : Ivory Coast's PM Announces New 'unity' Government." Tehran Times Daily NewsPaper. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. <http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=214890>.