afrol News, 15 April - The former Ivorian rebels have called on their leader Guillaume Soro to quit the post of prime minister and distance himself from the government, after accusing the government of stalling the processes leading to elections.

Ivory Coast which has postponed elections several times since 2005 saw both President Laurent Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) and Mr Soro’s New Forces (FN) shifting blames for sluggish progress towards election following the formation of the unity government in 2007.

Local newspapers have reported Mr Soro's supporters lashing on President Gbagbo who is allegedly trying to convince the people and the international community that the New Forces are reluctant to implement the peace accord.

Mr Soro became prime minister in a national unity government in 2007 after a peace deal was signed but a timetable for presidential elections scheduled for late 2008 has lapsed.

Reports said the electoral commission delayed a deadline for voter registration on 15 March this year until the end of the month saying it has identified 5.5 million people, out of an estimated eight million eligible voters.

The presidential election was originally scheduled for October 2005, but the country failed to go ahead with the planned schedule due to a division between the rebel north and government-controlled south, separated by a buffer zone patrolled by UN and French peacekeepers.

Côte d'Ivoire, a leading cocoa and diamond exporter in western Africa, was split in two after a botched coup attempt by New Forces (FN) rebels in 2002, with the north remaining under FN control.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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