Almami Cyllah, IFES Regional Director for Africa, comments on Young-Jin Choi, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI)'s, comments that elections in the country might be delayed:

"Delays in the elections in Cote d’Ivoire are nothing new. They have been delayed since 2005. Recently, the United Nations Special Envoy to that country said that technical difficulties may adversely affect the timeline for the country’s long-awaited Presidential elections. The Secretary General mirrored these comments. Both statements remind me of a conversation I had with the a former United States Ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire. In it, he said to me: 'We will have elections in Cote d'Ivoire in the Fall…we just don't know which year.' Elections will never be perfect in any part of the world. There will always be some glitches to overcome during the process. What matters is not that the process be seamless, but that the political will of the leaders to hold elections exists. Friends of Cote d’Ivoire must actively continue to encourage the various stakeholders of that country, including the leadership, to take the necessary steps to have free and transparent elections in a timely manner instead of deliberately slowing the process."