Ivory Coast leader takes oath, despite dispute

Incumbent Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbowas sworn in for a new term on Saturday even though the United Nations and world leaders maintain his opponent won the disputed election.

In a bold sign Gbagbo would not bow to international pressure to concede defeat, he wrapped himself in the Ivorian flag as he took his oath at the presidential palace.

"These last few days have seen terrible cases of interference," Gbagbo said. "I call on my fellow countrymen so that our sovereignty is not damaged, do not call on others to interfere in our affairs."

The ceremony came only a day after one of Gbagbo's allies went on state television to overturn previously announced results that showed opposition leader Alassane Ouattara had won.

U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy say Ouattara's victory must be acknowledged. The top UN official in Ivory Coast is also standing by the earlier results putting Ouattara ahead.

'I am deeply concerned by the evolution of events in Ivory Coast.' Jose Manuel Barroso, president ofEuropean Commission

"The international community will hold those who act to thwart the democratic process and the will of the electorate accountable for their actions," Obama warned.

Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, also described Ouattara as "the legitimate winner" of the runoff vote held nearly a week ago.

"I am deeply concerned by the evolution of events in Ivory Coast," Barroso said Saturday. "I call on all political forces to respect the electoral outcome, to show responsibility and to refrain from any act of violence."

Ivory Coast's presidential election was meant to restore stability after a 2002-2003 civil war destroyed the economy of one of the most affluent countries in Africa. Instead, the election is casting a growing shadow, with Gbagbo holding the inauguration ceremony even as international pressure mounts.

Friday's announcement overturning Ouattara's victory sparked violent protests in Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan. On Saturday, Ouattara supporters once again took to the streets, burning tires and a table in one neighborhood.

Gbagbo's five-year mandate expired in 2005 and the country's first election in a decade was delayed multiple times. He claimed first that the West African country was too volatile and that security could not be assured. He later cited technicalitiessuch asthe composition of the voter roll.

The election went ahead in October but headed to a runoff vote, and the country's election commission announced Thursday that Ouattara had won.The new results, claiming re-election for the incumbent, were announced on national television by a Gbagbo loyalist.

The new figures put Gbagbo on top with more than 51 percent of the vote by chucking out some 500,000 ballots from Ouattara strongholds, representing almost a tenth of all the ballots cast. The head of the constitutional council, Paul Yao N'Dre, said the council was invalidating results from seven of the nation's 19 voting regions because of evidence that pro-Gbagbo voters were intimidated by mobs.

"You think that you can cheat, stuff ballot boxes and intimidate voters and that the other side won't see what is going on," Gbagbo said Saturday.

The figures released Friday were immediately rejected by the United Nations, which is responsible for certifying the final results.

The country's constitution gives the constitutional council the final word on the outcome of the vote, but a 2007 peace deal signed by Gbagbo said the United Nations would also need to certify the results.

UN stands byOuattara win

Young-Jin Choi, the top UN official in the country, made clear that the UN was standing by the earlier results putting Ouattara ahead.

"The results of the second round of the presidential election as they were proclaimed by the president of the Independent Electoral Commission do not change," Choi said at a news conference attended by numerous reporters but not broadcast on local TV. "This confirms Alassane Ouattara as winner of the second round."

The move was met by stinging criticism from Gbagbo's camp, which issued a threat to Choi on the evening newscast.

"Mr. Choi is acting against the charter of the UN," said Alcide Djedje, the country's permanent representative to the United Nations, who is an adviser to Gbagbo. "It's a travesty that a bureaucrat at theUN wants to designate the president of Ivory Coast. If he continues like this, we will ask him to leave Ivory Coast."

The 68-year-old Ouattara, a former economist for the International Monetary Fund, held his own news conference a short while later.

"The special representative of the secretary general just certified the results given by the Independent Electoral Commission, which declares me the winner of the second round of the election," he said. "I am thus president of the Ivory Coast."

The African Union warned the government to put the nation first and to accept the results.

"Any other approach risks plunging (Ivory Coast) into a crisis with incalculable consequences for the country, as well as for the region and the continent as a whole," the organization said in a statement.

The country was placed on lockdown immediately after the commission announced Ouattara's win on Thursday, with a decree read on state TV saying the nation's air and land borders had been closed and that foreign TV and radio had been banned.