The populations of the southern zone controlled by the government army and those of the central northwest (CNO) zone by the ex-rebels were crazy about the consultation of Cote d'Ivoire's provisional electoral list when it was published on Sunday and Monday.
With the help of the United Nations Operations in Cote d'lvoire (ONUCI), which
transported the lists by air and road, the long- awaited display took place on Sunday in the
West African country's major cities of Abidjan and Yamoussoukro.
The crowds were perceptible on the ground, in most of the centers, with the consultation
of the lists being done calmly and with discipline.
"I have come to see my name and that of my mother. I am happy that we are featuring on
the list," a student Fatoumata Kamagate at the Soma Samake College center in Adjame, a popular Abidjan district, told Xinhua.
"I had already seen my name through the Internet but to make sure, I came to see the
displayed list. It's all right," said Herve Gueu, a manager of a filling station.
The same ambience of craze was observable at the Siporex 9 school center in Yopougon,the biggest Abidjan district. While people were happy after seeing their names on the list,others had little to talk about although they did not seem to be discouraged by failing to see theirs.
It was the same case for people who were appearing on the list but who complained of
spelling errors of their names.
"It's the negligence of registration clerks that caused all this. It's not such a serious issue,"Alfred Kadio, a teacher, told Xinhua.
His colleague Mamadou Kone, who was much calm, said he would lodge his complaints with the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI).
The CEI, which expected a number of complaints, indicated to those who had
incomplete information to lodge those grievances to their local electoral commission offices.
The solving of the problems will last one month and eight days, starting from the
publication of electoral lists.
In a CEI press statement published on Monday, the body said that "solutions for each
case will be provided. Know that no one will be deprived of his rights. We promise that all
fraud cases will be detected and the fraudsters will be brought before the justice system which will handle them as they should be handled."
The press statement also mentioned the good progress in the CNO zone of Bouake,where consultation was being done in calm, discipline and serenity. According to the document, there is a little bit absence since almost all the people have already consulted the list by SMS or Internet.
"Although in Bouake town there are no big crowds, it's not the same case for the populations from the rural areas who do not have access to either internet connections or a
telephone network. They impatiently waited for the display of the lists. This explains their
high turnout in different centers of consultation," spokesman of CEI Bamba
Yacouba said,
adding that the turnout was high and that the illiterates were helped by officials or by some
village boys.
The majority of the people are hoping that the electoral list will remain the same as the
final version for the upcoming presidential elections, which already have 14 candidates
whose names were recently published by the constitutional council.
It is also worth noting that people have observed the rules for consultation as appealed by
the CEI in a press statement published on Sunday to keep calm, serene and disciplined.
The presidential polls originally set for Nov. 29 were once again postponed to an indefinite date because of the failure to accomplish the publication of the voter list. But still,the people of Cote d'Ivoire place high hope on the vote to end the political crisis since 2002.