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UN Security Council welcomes "peaceful" presidential run-off in Cote d’Ivoire

02 December 2010 21:57 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The UN Security Council on Thursday welcomed the holding of presidential run-off elections in Cote d’Ivoire on Nov. 28, which were conducted with a "massive and peaceful participation", APA reports quoting Xinhua News Agency

The U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, who holds the rotating Security Council presidency for December, delivered the statement to reporters here.

Recalling that leaders of the west African country "bear primary responsibility for ensuring a peaceful process," the 15- member Council called on them to "exercise restraint" and "honor their commitments to respect the results."

Meanwhile, the Council welcomed the announcement on Thursday of the provisional results of the presidential run-off elections by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), a step it called " crucial" for "ensuring the validity and integrity of the electoral process."

The Council reiterated a "readiness to take the appropriate measures against those who obstruct the electoral process."

The Council further "urged the supporters of the candidates to refrain from any provocation or recourse of violence throughout the electoral process," said Rice.

The IEC announced Thursday that former prime minister Alassane Quattara won the presidential run-off, garnering 54.1 percent of the vote, while incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo got 45.9 percent.

Cote d’Ivoire’s presidential elections have been delayed since 2005 due to tension between the rebel-held north of the country and the south, which engaged in a civil war beginning in 2002.