Vol 49 No 22 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Forever delayed 31st October 2008 Postponing polls has become a habit, but the parties are still focused on winning power whenever the election comes Politicians all agree that the latest election deadline of 30 November cannot be met and expect the polls to be held in March next year at the earliest....
Vol 49 No 22 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Three's a crowd 31st October 2008 If the elections actually take place, the candidates are more than ready A trio of veterans compete to fill the shoes of Côte d'Ivoire's founding President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. President Laurent Gbagbo, 63, was a university teacher and trade unionist who...
Vol 49 No 20 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Spreading toxicity 3rd October 2008 A new round of legal action against local and foreign companies accused of dumping toxic waste in Côte d'Ivoire which killed 16 people in 2006 could have serious...
Vol 49 No 14 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Democratic deficit 4th July 2008 Leaders send out mixed signals on whether elections will take place this year President Laurent Gbagbo assured representatives of the United Nations Security Council - on a flying visit to Abidjan on 9 June - that the November election deadline would...
Vol 49 No 14 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Skimming a bad system 4th July 2008 Côte d'Ivoire's Public Prosecutor, Raymond Tchimou, is leading a crackdown on corruption in the cocoa industry, which accounts for 40% of world supply. On 13 June, Tchimou announced...
Vol 49 No 14 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Ivorian auction 4th July 2008 The wealth of Côte d'Ivoire's defunct founding father, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, was on display at an auction in the historic French town of Fontainebleau on 29 June. The sale...
Vol 49 No 9 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE It's not over yet 25th April 2008 Postponed elections and continuing violence cast a long shadow over hopes for peace The elections that were due in January are now scheduled for 30 November, but the old bugbears that caused the delay have still not been laid to rest,...
Vol 48 No 20 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE A do-it-yourself peace 5th October 2007 Our accord is a model for all, President Gbagbo tells the UN – but the hardest test is yet to come as election preparations begin Both government and rebel politicians extol the virtues of the peace accord which they negotiated in March. Côte d'Ivoire is moving determinedly towards free elections next year, they...
Vol 48 No 20 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE The 'Soro ranks' 5th October 2007 When the war broke out in 2002, those soldiers who defected from the national army to the rebels were rewarded by promotion; they now insist they should keep...
Vol 48 No 12 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Blood chocolate 8th June 2007 Chocolate sales could dive after a report that Ivorian rebels may earn more from taxes on cocoa beans than from 'blood diamonds'.