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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">* Breaking News * Confirmed : Ivory ...ner ( BBC )...</span>
Ivory Coast's Constitutional Council has overturned earlier poll results and declared President Laurent Gbagbo the winner of Sunday's run-off.On Thursday the electoral commission head said opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara had defeated Mr Gbagbo.But the UN mission in Ivory Coast has said even if complaints of fraud are upheld, Mr Ouattara should still win.The presidential poll was intended to reunify the world's largest cocoa producer after a civil war in 2002.The two candidates represent the two sides of the north-south divide that exists religiously, culturally and administratively, with the northern half still controlled in part by the former rebels.Burning tyresPaul Yao N'Dre, chairman of the Constitutional Council, which validates election results, said Mr Gbagbo had won a little more than 51% of the vote.He said results in seven regions in the north, where Mr Ouattara draws most of his support, had been annulled."The irregularities are of such a nature that they invalidate the vote," AFP news agency quotes Mr N'Dre, an ally of President Gbagbo, as saying on national television.The head of the electoral commission had said Mr Gbagbo won 46% of ballots cast.The BBC's John James in the main city of Abidjan says the UN peace mission in the country has a role in certifying the election results.It said it had received reports of violence in parts of the west and north on election day, but that overall the voting seemed to be peaceful and any irregularities did not overturn Mr Ouattara's lead.Our reporter says the Constitutional Council's decision has come as a shock to many, especially the opposition.According to AP news agency, protesters have taken to the streets of Abidjan, burning tyres, throwing chunks of concrete and tearing down posters.'Deeply concerned'On Thursday evening, the military closed the country's borders and international news sources were suspended.The African Union said it was "deeply concerned" by the developments, Reuters news agency reported.There have been dramatic scenes since Sunday over the declaration of the results.On Tuesday, Mr Gbagbo's representative in the electoral commission tore up the first batch of results as the commission's spokesman was about to announce them.The electoral commission head, Youssouf Bakayok, then went ahead with an announcement on Thursday, speaking under armed guard at a hotel rather than from the commission's headquarters, declaring Mr Ouattara the winner.Not long afterwards, Mr N'Dre said that, as the announcement had come after Wednesday's legal deadline, those results were "null and void".Both the army and UN peacekeepers have been patrolling the streets in the main city, Abidjan, since Sunday to prevent an outbreak of violence.At least four people have been killed in election-related clashes in Abidjan this week.
<span style="font-weight: bold">* Breaking News * Confirmed : Ivory ...ner ( BBC )...</span>
Ivory Coast's Constitutional Council has overturned earlier poll results and declared President Laurent Gbagbo the winner of Sunday's run-off.On Thursday the electoral commission head said opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara had defeated Mr Gbagbo.But the UN mission in Ivory Coast has said even if complaints of fraud are upheld, Mr Ouattara should still win.The presidential poll was intended to reunify the world's largest cocoa producer after a civil war in 2002.The two candidates represent the two sides of the north-south divide that exists religiously, culturally and administratively, with the northern half still controlled in part by the former rebels.Burning tyresPaul Yao N'Dre, chairman of the Constitutional Council, which validates election results, said Mr Gbagbo had won a little more than 51% of the vote.He said results in seven regions in the north, where Mr Ouattara draws most of his support, had been annulled."The irregularities are of such a nature that they invalidate the vote," AFP news agency quotes Mr N'Dre, an ally of President Gbagbo, as saying on national television.The head of the electoral commission had said Mr Gbagbo won 46% of ballots cast.The BBC's John James in the main city of Abidjan says the UN peace mission in the country has a role in certifying the election results.It said it had received reports of violence in parts of the west and north on election day, but that overall the voting seemed to be peaceful and any irregularities did not overturn Mr Ouattara's lead.Our reporter says the Constitutional Council's decision has come as a shock to many, especially the opposition.According to AP news agency, protesters have taken to the streets of Abidjan, burning tyres, throwing chunks of concrete and tearing down posters.'Deeply concerned'On Thursday evening, the military closed the country's borders and international news sources were suspended.The African Union said it was "deeply concerned" by the developments, Reuters news agency reported.There have been dramatic scenes since Sunday over the declaration of the results.On Tuesday, Mr Gbagbo's representative in the electoral commission tore up the first batch of results as the commission's spokesman was about to announce them.The electoral commission head, Youssouf Bakayok, then went ahead with an announcement on Thursday, speaking under armed guard at a hotel rather than from the commission's headquarters, declaring Mr Ouattara the winner.Not long afterwards, Mr N'Dre said that, as the announcement had come after Wednesday's legal deadline, those results were "null and void".Both the army and UN peacekeepers have been patrolling the streets in the main city, Abidjan, since Sunday to prevent an outbreak of violence.At least four people have been killed in election-related clashes in Abidjan this week.