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Article: Ivory Coast sets long-awaited presidential elections for Oct. 30
- Article from:
- AP Worldstream
- Article date:
- April 28, 2005
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AP Worldstream
04-28-2005
Dateline: ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast's government on Thursday announced long-awaited presidential elections will be held Oct. 30, and the top opposition leader said a government decision allowing him to run in the poll was a crucial step toward democracy in the West African state.
Alassane Ouattara, a former prime minister barred from presidential elections in 2000 because of a controversial nationality clause in the constitution, offered reserved praise President Laurent Gbagbo, his political rival.
Gbagbo reversed the ban Tuesday, allowing Ouattara to stand in the elections, a key demand of rebels who control the northern half of the country.
The move comes ...