S/PV.6415 Security Council

The President: As this is the first meeting of the Security Council under the British presidency for November, I should like to take this opportunity to pay tribute, on behalf of the Security Council, to His Excellency Mr. Ruhakana Rugunda and to the Ugandan delegation for their service as President of the Security Council for the month of October. I am sure I speak on behalf of all members of the Council in thanking Ambassador Rugunda for his excellent stewardship of the Council in what was a very busy and important month. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted. The situation in C6te d'Ivoire Progress report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in C6te d'Ivoire (S/2010/537) The President: I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of cote d'Ivoire, in which he requests to be invited to participate in the consideration of the item on the Council's agenda. In accordance with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite that representative to participate in the consideration of the item without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided. At the invitation of the President, Mr. N'Gbichi (Cote d'Ivoire) took a seat at the Council table. The President: In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council's prior consultations, I shall take it that the Security Council agrees to extend an invitation under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure to Mr. Choi Young-Jin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Cote d'Ivoire and head of the United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire. It is so decided. I wish to welcome Special Representative Choi, who is joining today's meeting via Video- teleconference from Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. I wish to draw the attention of members to document S/2010/537, which contains the progress report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire. I now invite Council members to hear a briefing by Mr. Choi Young-J in, to whom I give the floor.

Mr. Choi: During my most recent briefing to the Security Council, I highlighted a major breakthrough in the Ivorian electoral process: the establishment on 9 September of the voters list comprising over 5.7 million people, which I certified explicitly on 24 September. Starting on 7 October, Ivorians began collecting their voters and identity cards from distributions centres throughout the country. The distribution operation was conducted successfully and most of the people were able to collect their cards. Everywhere, Ivorians were thrilled to finally be able to have their identity and voters card, as the issue of identification had been at the centre of the Ivorian cr1s1s. Meanwhile, electoral campaigning was launched on 15 October and was conducted in a commendable manner, with the Ivorian presidential candidates adhering to the provisions of the code of good conduct signed by the political parties in April 2008 in the presence of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The candidates travelled in the various regions of Cote d'Ivoire to present their electoral platforms. Electoral campaigning aroused passions and emotions, but was conducted in a peaceful environment throughout the country thanks to the good sense of discipline and mutual respect demonstrated by all. After two weeks of campaigning, the presidential election was held on 31 October, as planned. Election day was marked as much by the enthusiasm of the population as by the respect for democratic principles. The population responded massively to the call of the political leaders to cast their votes. The turnout was over 80 per cent - one of the highest in the world. The voting itself took place in a calm and orderly manner, 10-61808 and no major human rights violation was recorded, which is impressive given that reunification is yet to be realized. The Ivorian people rose to the occasion, showing the international community their political maturity and determination to put an end to the crisis. According to the electoral timetable published by the Independent Electoral Commission, the provisional result of the election is to be announced today but is yet to materialize. Here in Cote d'Ivoire, people are eagerly awaiting the result of the election. Beginning on the evening of 2 November, the Independent Electoral Commission began announcing partial preliminary results. As of this morning, more than 2.5 million voters had been publicly counted by the Independent Electoral Commission. The United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) has provided and continues to provide technical and logistical support to the Independent 10-61808 Electoral Commission, including the transport of the crucial voting reports to the central Independent Electoral Commission in Abidjan. The final result of the election is planned to be proclaimed by the Constitutional Council by 10 November. Should no candidate receive a majority of votes in the first round, a second round will be necessary. According to the current electoral timetable, electoral campaigning for the second round would begin on 12 November, and the second round of the presidential election would be held on 28 November.

The President: I thank Mr. Choi for his briefing. There are no further speakers on my list. In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council's prior consultations, I now invite Council members to informal consultations to continue our discussion on the subject. The meeting rose at 10.15 am.