Results of the presidential election in the Ivory Coast: Respect the popular will, No to reactionary civil war!

After ten years of a social-political crisis that has led to the pauperization of the popular masses, and five years of equivocation, the presidential election in the Ivory Coast has finally been held. According to official figures, participation has been heavy (83% in the first round and about 81% in the second). The results made public by the Independent Electoral Commission and confirmed by the UN delegation in the Ivory Coast gave 54.1% of the votes to Alassane Ouattara and 45.9% to Laurent Gbabgo. However, the Constitutional Council has unjustly declared the elections in 7 regions void and declared Gbabgo the winner. According to our observations, Alassane Ouattara had the support of the voters. The arguments given for the “presidential majority” supporting Laurent Gbabgo and rejecting the results do not hold weight. The Constitutional Council has not been a judge in the elections, but a supporter of Gbabgo. We will soon speak about the disagreements of the protagonists with regard to the results.

The electoral struggle for the presidency has ended with the logically declared victory of Alassane Ouattara. But the rejection of the results of the ballots by Laurent Gbabgo has led to two presidents of the republic being “invested” and two governments. The threat of confrontations up to the unleashing of a civil war is real.

The Revolutionary Communist Party of the Ivory Coast (PCRCI) is convinced that a civil war would be disastrous since it would only aggravate the situation of the popular masses and of the whole country, and strengthen imperialist domination. It is of the greatest importance that everything be done so that the popular will is accepted by all the protagonists. For our part the PCRCI will make every effort to avoid a reactionary civil war that is on the horizon. All actions that attempt to divide the people of the Ivory Coast, to incite them to tribal and racial hatred and xenophobia must be fought and rejected.

At this time the most important and most urgent thing is to do everything to make everyone understand the need to respect the will of the majority shown in the ballot of last November 28 and thus avoid a reactionary civil war.

Therefore, the PCRCI calls on the peoples of the Ivory Coast to say No to fraud, No to reactionary civil war and adventure. We call on the peoples to form committees of struggle against fraud and against the incitation to reactionary civil war. Let us take the road to a better future, that of developing the revolution, which will reconcile Ivoirians with each other.

Abidjan, December 6, 2010

Revolutionary Communist Party of the Ivory Coast