Abijan – The African Union (AU) has suspended Ivory Coast, following a disputed presidential election in the West African nation.
AU official Ramtane Lamamra said Ivory Coast would remain suspended until opposition candidate Alassane “takes over” from Laurent Gbagbo.
The UN Security Council earlier said Ouattara had won last month’s poll.
However, Gbagbo, backed by the army, is defying international pressure and continuing to cling to power.
Lamamra made the announcement yesterday, after an AU meeting at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Lamamra said the decision had been taken by the council of the 53-nation bloc, describing Ouattara as “a democratically elected president”.
Earlier, West African regional bloc Ecowas also suspended Ivory Coast.
Last Thursday, Ivory Coast’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) declared that Ouattara had won the November 28 run-off by 54.1 per cent to 45.9 per cent.
But after Gbagbo and his supporters alleged the ballot had been fraudulent in some northern regions, the Constitutional Council – run by Gbagbo’s ally – overruled the Commission.
The council said Gbagbo had secured just over 51 per cent of the vote.
Both Gbagbo and Ouattara have since sworn themselves in and named their rival cabinets, heightening tension in the country.
Ouattara – who has the backing of the United States and France, among other nations – is operating from a luxury hotel in Abidjan, guarded by United Nations peacekeepers.
The election was intended to reunify the world’s largest cocoa producer after a civil war in 2002. (BBC News)
