Results in Ivory Coast's landmark presidential election were delayed Wednesday as backers of President Laurent Gbagbo accused the opposition of fraud and urged that polls in several regions be scrapped. Authorities had promised to announce results Wednesday morning, amid fears of unrest after disruptions and accusations of abuses in the election, already marred by at least seven deaths in vote-related violence.
By mid-afternoon reporters were still barred from the electoral commission's headquarters, which were surrounded by soldiers and police. Gbagbo's challenger Alassane Ouattara broke his silence, telling reporters: "It is imperative that the president of the Independent Electoral Commission declares the provisional results immediately." "This state of affairs seriously worries all our countrymen who have been waiting since Sunday evening, and also me as a candidate."
Amid mounting international concern, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on electoral authorities to announce a result by the end of the day. The African Union also "strongly urged the Ivorian parties to accept the verdict of the polls and the will of the people" and settle any dispute legally.
Allies of Gbagbo vowed to have polls annulled in four northern regions, while the Ouattara's camp accused the president of trying to steal power by blocking the announcement of partial results. Troops deployed around the main city of Abidjan, which remained tense and quiet Wednesday as residents awaited the results of an election which was supposed to end a decade of instability in the world's biggest cocoa producer. The commission is legally obliged to announce a winner by the end of the day Wednesday, but the result must then be confirmed or otherwise by the Constitutional Council, which headed by a close ally of Gbagbo.
"It is essential that the Independent Electoral Commission announces the results within the planned timeframe, which is to say before this evening," Sarkozy's office said in a statement. Sarkozy, in a bid to use his influence on the former French colony, called on "all Ivorian parties to cooperate with the commission so that it may accomplish its task without delay." He said the will of the Ivorian people "must be fully respected." Chaotic scenes had prevented results being announced on Tuesday amid accusations of cheating by both sides, though the United Nations mission said the election was sound overall.
A supporter of Gbagbo in the commission seized papers with partial results from the hands of a spokesman who was about to read them out to reporters and tore them up, before the spokesman was escorted away by police.
"We will fight to the end to ensure that the true results are published," Gbagbo's spokesman Pascal Affi N'Guessan told a news conference Wednesday. He said his side was applying to the commission and the Constitutional Council to contest results in four regions, including the central opposition stronghold of Bouake. "We will do all in our power for the results in all areas where fraud took place in the elections to be annulled, so that the outcome of the ballots reflects the real opinion of our countrymen," N'Guessan said.
A spokesman for Ouattara's camp, Albert Mabri Toikeusse, earlier accused Gbagbo's allies of blocking the results to cling to power, "and aiming to drive the country once again into chaos." The election is intended to end years of crisis in the west African country, which was split in two when former rebels of the New Forces took control of the north after a foiled coup against Gbagbo in 2002. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Ivorian leaders "to act responsibly and peacefully." The European Union's chief diplomat Catherine Ashton called on authorities to respect "the will of the Ivorian people" and release the results.