DECLARATION OF THE ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY ON THE PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE 2ND ROUND OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION HELD IN COTE D’IVOIRE ON 28 NOVEMBER 2010
The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly,
Meeting in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) from 2 to 4 December 2010,
Having regard to the provisions of the Electoral Code of Côte d’Ivoire;
Having regard to the Code of Conduct for political parties, groupings,political movements and candidates in the elections in Côte d’Ivoire;
Considering the risk that any blunder in the electoral process could entail for the political and social balance acquired, with difficulty, in Côte d’Ivoire, and for the stability of the entire sub-region;
Considering the preliminary conclusions of the election observation missions of several international organisations, notably the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the European Union, which consider the second round of the presidential election to have been conducted in a free and democratic manner;
Deplores the violence which erupted in certain parts of the country pending the announcement of the provisional results and which has claimed several lives;
Regrets that obstacles posed to the functioning of the Independent Electoral Commission of Côte d’Ivoire prevented it from announcing the preliminary results of the second round of the presidential election within the deadline specified by the electoral code;
Urges all the parties concerned to exercise tremendous restraint following the announcement of the final results by the Constitutional Council of Côte d’Ivoire and to resort to the legal channels for all complaints;
Reminds the Constitutional Council that all decisions must be taken with complete objectivity, a keen sense of duty, and responsibility for the Ivorian nation;
Condemns the decision of the Constitutional Council to invalidate the preliminary results published by the Independent Electoral Commission of Côte d’Ivoire,withoutprior application of the procedure stipulated in the electoral code;
Refuses to recognise the results announced by the Constitutional Council which it considers contrary to the will expressed by the Ivorian people in the polls.