On The Crises In La Cote d' Ivoire ( 2 )

AMA ASARE (UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON)

“Without further delay I call on the various factions in the Ivorian electoral dispute to come together and put in place measures towards the organization of fresh elections.They need to go over the entire process. Anything apart short of that would not bring the peace we want to prevail in La Cote d’Ivoire. Before this is done trust-worthy people who have been proven not to have any interest in the outcome of election in that country must be brought in to handle the election. The Western media must also desist from inflaming passions. Much of what they reported was based on their imaginations and not a true reflection of what was taking place in that country. There must certainly be a re-run of the elections.”

MARK KOFFIE (UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON)

“From all that I have read and heard on the airwaves, I am convinced that the source of the problem to the crises in La Cote d’Ivoire had its roots in the constitution of that country. Why was it possible for the electoral commission to pronounce provisional results and declare Alhassan Ouattara winner of the 28 December election when in fact the constitutional council, per its mandate boldly stipulated in the constitution, had declared Gbagbo the winner of the elections enabling the Chief Justice to swear Laurent Gbagbo as President. There was a conflict and one state institution did not do its work well. Gbagbo is President, but in order to prevent future occurrence of such disputes, a comprehensive reform must be carried out on the Ivorian Constitution.”

ADU BOAMPONG (UNIVERSITY OF GHANA)

“Laurent Gbagbo must honestly step down and hand over power to Alhassan Ouattara. He is setting a bad precedence in the politics of Africa. Why do some leaders think they are the only ones born with the wisdom to govern? President Gbagbo sought the mandate of the people to rule that country, but unfortunately he was rejected at the polls and a new President was elected. He must resign so that the will of the people would manifest. If there should be an escalation of violence in that country, it would be the nursing mothers, school children and the poor peasant farmers who would suffer. Ouattara and his people must also ensure that if power is finally handed over to them, they would do things to alleviate the sufferings of the people in La Cote d’Ivoire and give adequate recognition to the achievements of President Gbagbo during his tenure of office.”

DENNIS KOJOE (UNIVERSITY OF GHANA)

“The Western media gravely mis-led the world on the situation in Ivory Coast. As of now I am finding it extremely difficult to understand why they are not interested in the myriads of complaints of rigging in strongholds of the opposition candidate, Alhassan Ouattara. Why were they so interested in one side of the story and not the grueling details of the other? Were they seeking to impose their stooge on the people of La Cote d’I voire? I hope they do not succeed this time around. Secondly, I believe the nature of the Ivorian constitution makes it prone to conflicts which can be avoided. I call on the parliamentarians of that country to study the constitution of other countries in the sub-region like Ghana, so they can improve on their constitution.”

AZURE SA-EED (UNIVERSITY OF GHANA)

“The only solution to the political upheaval in La Cote d’I voire is for Gbagbo to concede deafeat and hand-over the reins of office to the opposition. Africans must not yield to the idea of power sharing because we shall come to the point where the will of the masses would no longer be a determinant factor in the political affairs of the country. Sovereignty resides with the people and that must be respected at any given moment. President Laurent Gbagbo has ruled La Cote d’Ivoire for ten solid years and the people have said no this time around. I also want to call on the international community to stop meddling in the affairs of that country, so they can build trust amongst themselves for national advancement.

EMMANUEL SACKEY (UNIVERSITY OF GHANA)

“Democracy calls for competition of parties in an attempt to win the mandate of the people so they can implement their view of how to manage the affairs of the state toward nation building. It is in this context that political parties are formed to serve as a vehicle towards the actualization of these noble objectives; however it is the inappropriate conduct of some politicians which gives politics a bad name. I call on his Excellency President Gbagbo to concede defeat and acknowledge the right of the Ivorian people to determine their own destiny. If he believes he has put in place the proper structures which can ensure free and fair elections in future, then he should summon courage and organize his party so they can win power in the next elections.”                                                                                                          

YUSIF IDDRISU (UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON)

“The majority of people who support the constitutional council of La Cote d’I voire in declaring President Gbagbo the winner do so because of the presumed inability of the electoral commission of that country to declare the elections within the stipulated time frame of three days. These people forget that it was the agents of Gbagbo who attacked the electoral officer and tore into pieces the election results. Why did they do that? Who is to blame? Given the state of disarray in which the electoral commission found itself, the constitutional council then hijacked the process and based on their own judgement declared Gbagbo the winner. I think this is just unfair! It is obvious that if that attack had not taken place the electoral commission would have declared Ouattarra the winner of the elections.”

NANA KWESI (UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON)

“The publication of electoral results of the Ivory Coast elections that I saw in the newspapers draws one to the conclusion that there was some inaccuracy in the collation of the result in some areas most of which went against Gbagbo. However the dominant view is that Ouattara has won the elections. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African Union (AU),European Union (EU) and the super powers are firmly behind Ouattara. If there is any grievances from the camp of Gbagbo, they must still muster courage and allow the democratic process to go through and seek redress later and ensure that they offer suggestions to improve upon the operations of the institutions of state responsible for the holding of elections.”