International mediator Thabo Mbeki was huddling with Ivory Coast’s presidential rivals in Abidjan yesterday to head off an outbreak of political violence after both men swore themselves in as president following a disputed election.
The former South African president stepped in as world powers called for a peaceful resolution to the November 28 election, which was meant to end a decade of conflict but has been marred by deadly violence.
The 53-member African Union (AU) dispatched Mr Mbeki to try to avert “a crisis of incalculable consequences”. Mr Mbeki has previously helped mediate a peace deal which led to the holding of the West African country’s first elections in a decade last month.
Mr Mbeki told reporters at the presidential residence in Abidjan he had met with the incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, and would confer with his rival, former prime minister Alassane Ouattara, later in the day.
He also said he had met UN representative Choi Young-jin, who has backed Mr Ouattara in the dispute.
“We want to hear everybody’s point of view in this matter before making any recommendations about what to do,” Mr Mbeki said.
Mr Gbagbo, 65, has defied international calls to cede power after the United Nations recognised Mr Ouattara as the winner, raising fears of fresh violence in the country where at least 17 people have been killed since last week.
In an emergency meeting on Saturday, the AU backed Mr Ouattara as president, saying in a statement that it rejected “any attempt to create a fait accompli to undermine the electoral process and the will of the people”.
It called on the rival parties “to show the necessary restraint and to refrain from taking actions which will exacerbate an already fragile situation”. As Mr Gbagbo’s allies hung the chain of office around his neck at a ceremony on Saturday, ex-prime minister Mr Ouattara, 68, swore himself in as president in a handwritten letter.
UN-certified results from last Sunday’s run-off vote showed Mr Ouattara as the winner, but Mr Gbagbo’s High Court allies overturned them by annulling allegedly rigged ballots in parts of the north, his rival’s stronghold.
The United States and European Union have also recognised Mr Ouattara as the victor, but Mr Gbagbo has refused to step aside and told outsiders to mind their own business.
“In recent days I have noted serious cases of interference,” he said after being sworn in by his allies. “I am charged with defending our sovereignty and I will not negotiate on that.”
Mr Ouattara countered by signing a handwritten oath of office and sending it in his “capacity as president” to the constitutional authorities.
Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, leader of the former rebel New Forces movement that controls the north, offered his resignation to Mr Ouattara who immediately re-appointed him to the post.
The New Forces fought a brief civil war against forces loyal to Mr Gbagbo in 2002 and 2003 that left the country split in two between north and south.
State television on Friday broadcast pictures of military leaders apparently pledging allegiance to Mr Gbagbo.
Soldiers were deployed in Abidjan, while armoured vehicles from a UN peacekeeping force guarded the hotel housing Mr Ouattara’s campaign base.