PRESIDENT GBAGBO: FULLY COMMITTED TO ELECTIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 001237 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL IV SUBJECT: PRESIDENT GBAGBO: FULLY COMMITTED TO ELECTIONS Classified By: AMBASSADOR AUBREY HOOKS FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D. ¶1. (C) President Gbagbo invited the Ambassador on November 6 to the Presidential Residence to express appreciation for the support of the United States in protecting the Constitution of Cote d'Ivoire during the negotiation of Resolution 1721 in the UN Security Council. President Gbagbo also said he wanted to reassure the United States that elections will be held in 2007 and that he is fully supportive of the elections process. The Ambassador stated that the USG was firmly of the view that elections should take place in 2007 in Cote d'Ivoire. The timetable for elections is fairly tight and assumes that there will be political will to move forward. The Ambassador noted that all of the Ivorian parties, including the President and his FPI supporters, shared responsibility for blocking the political process during the course of this past year. Delays at any stage of the identification and voter registration processes will put in jeopardy the October 2007 date for elections. President Gbagbo assured the Ambassador that he would work to move both the identification and voter processes forward as quickly as possible. COMMENT: The Presidency had assembled a sizeable press contingent to meet the Ambassador as he came out of the meeting with President Gbagbo. The Ambassador's comments that the position of the United States in the UNSC debate on Resolution 1721 was based on respect for the Constitution made the November 7 headlines of several newspapers supportive of President Gbagbo. END COMMENT. ¶2. (C) President Gbagbo later in the day convoked a meeting of all Ambassadors to emphasize that elections must be held in 2007. President Gbagbo informed the assembled Ambassadors that he would be meeting with all elements of society (traditional chiefs, youth, women, foreign communities, etc) to hear their views on moving the election process forward. When subsequently asked how Prime Minister Banny, who is heading up a national dialog on similar issues, fits into his consultations, President Gbagbo brushed the question aside by stating that he had no problem with the Prime Minister. In response to another question about forming a new government, President Gbagbo also sidestepped the issue by declaring that the government was not his primary concern for now. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: President Gbagbo is trying to drive the political process in the wake of Resolution 1721. His televised address to the nation on November 2 was the first step. His meetings with civil society will maintain his momentum. His efforts to upstage Prime Minister Banny are deliberate. It remains to be seen how far he is prepared to go to keep himself in the driver's seat. Hooks