Laurent Gbagbo wins Ivory Coast election

Authorities allied to Ivory Coast’s President Laurent Gbagbo yesterday declared him the winner of the country’s contested and bloody election which his rivals accuse him of rigging.

With the country’s borders sealed on Mr Gbagbo’s orders amid fears of unrest, the Cons-titutional Council credited Mr Gbagbo with 51.4 per cent of the vote to 48.6 for his rival Alassane Ouattara, over-ruling provisional results that showed Mr Ouattara won.

The United Nations mission in the country said the election was sound overall, but both sides accused each other of cheating.

In Friday’s declaration the council, which has the final say on election results, alleged “ballot stuffing” and intimidation of pro-Gbagbo voters.

The council’s president Paul Yao N’Dre, a close ally of Mr Gbagbo, reading the declaration to reporters, said it had annulled results in seven regions in the northern half of the country, Mr Ouattara’s stronghold. It therefore ruled invalid the earlier provisional results from the Independent Electoral Commission that gave Mr Outtara 54 per cent of the vote and Mr Gbagbo 46.

Mr Ouattara’s camp said in advance it would reject any such ruling, accusing Mr Gbagbo, first elected in 2000, of wanting to steal power.

Meanwhile, the United nations rejected Mr Gbagbo’s win, stating that his rival was the winner.