RAILA NOT WORKING WITH MUGABE

Mugabe off Ivorian mediation panel

FAITH ZABA | ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA - Jan 31 2011 19:15

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President Robert Mugabe will not be mediator in the Ivory Coast conflict despite media reports from Addis Ababa saying he had been nominated to the panel of heads of state to act as intermediaries in the West African state.

The African Union (AU) on Monday named named heads of state Jacob Zuma of South Africa, Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Idriss Deby of Chad, Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso and Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania to resolve the election dispute in Ivory Coast.

A top Zimbabwe delegate in Addis Ababa told NewsDay that Zimbabwe could not be part of that panel because it had its own elections to organise.

“We could not be part of that panel because we have our own elections this year and there is still a lot that needs to be done to organise our election,” he said.

There were reports on Sunday that President Mugabe had been selected to the panel of mediators to the Ivory Coast crisis.

The panel, which is expected to complete its work within a month, will also include AU Commission chairperson Jean Ping and president of the Economic Community of West African States James Victor Gbebo.

The heads of state and government from the five geographical regions in Africa have been tasked with persuading Ivorian leader Laurent Gbabgo to relinquish power in the world’s largest cocoa producing country.

Ivory Coast has been gripped by a political crisis since the country’s Election Commission announced Alassane Ouattara winner of the November 28 presidential elections.

Gbabgo has refused to concede defeat, alleging voter fraud in the rebel-controlled north that supports Ouattara.

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The appointment of the panel follows an AU Security and Peace Council meeting on January 29 in Addis Ababa, which decided to set up a mediation team, comprising of one leader from each of Africa’s five regions, to resolve the stalement.

AU mediation efforts, led by Raila Odinga who was on Friday relieved of his duties on Friday night, failed.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy, AU outgoing chairperson Bingu wa Mutharika and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon on Sunday urged the African leaders to stand firm against Gbagbo’s attempt to hang on to power through the use of force.

Ban said the panel of the heads of state and government should help Ouattara form a national unity government.

He said: “The action we take will have an impact not only on the credibility of our organisations, but also on other democratic transitions and elections in divided societies.

“Above all we must not let the Ivorian people down, we cannot allow their democratically-expressed will to be foiled. Reopening the results of the elections would be a grave injustice and set an unfortunate precedent.”

Wa Mutharika said Gbabgo should vacate office, adding that Ivory Coast would remain suspended until a constitutionally elected leader is in place.

“I once again appeal to Mr Laurent Ggabgo to respect the will of the Ivorian people and adhere to the election results, and let Mr Alassane Ouattara, lead the Ivorian nation as he was mandated by the electorate.

“Until that is done, it is my form belief that the African Union will remain steadfast in the position that Cote d’Ivoire should remain suspended from its membership of this organisation.”

Sarkozy, who is the first French leader to be invited to address the union since the continental grouping was formed in 1963, said the “peaceful choice” of the people should prevail.

Since mid-December, violence has claimed more than 260 lives in Ivory Coast, while more than 30 000 Ivorians have fled to neighbouring countries, which Ban said could result in regional instability and a further 17 000 have been displaced internally.