Ouattara declared I. Coast President

IVORY COAST: Alassane Ouattara is set to take the oath of Ivory Coast’s highest office Friday after the Constitutional Council said it officially proclaimed him president following the ouster of Laurent Gbagbo.

The swearing-in ceremony will take place at 1600 GMT at the presidential palace in Abidjan, the presidency said, followed by the inauguration ceremony on May 21 in the political capital Yamoussoukro.

“Normally, the swearing-in is done at the inauguration ceremony, but in this case .. the Constitutional Council will fulfill its role tomorrow (Friday),” council chairman Paul Yao N’Dre said after presenting Ouattara, 69, with its decision to proclaim him head of state.

Last year, N’Dre triggered a five-month face-off by proclaiming Gbagbo the winner of November elections.

The electoral commission had by then already awarded victory to Ouattara with a 54 percent majority, a finding supported by the international community. His struggle to secure power turned increasingly violent until Gbagbo was finally arrested in an underground bunker stormed by pro-Ouattara forces on April 11.

As his rival is sworn in, Gbagbo is set Friday to answer investigators’ questions in a preliminary probe of possible criminal charges, at a hearing in Korhogo in the north of the country where he has been held since last month.

Gbagbo, 65, will appear before prosecutors and police probing allegations of violence, misappropriation of public funds and incitement to hatred.

More than 1,000 people died across Ivory Coast in the post-poll violence, which also prompted hundreds of people to flee their homes to safety elsewhere in the country or to neighbouring states.

ABIDJAN, Friday, AFP