ABIDJAN, Oct 19 (AFP) - Ivory Coast's military ruler General Robert Guei said in a radio address he would step aside if defeated in Sunday's presidential election. "Rest assured of one thing, dear compatriots, if I am beaten in the election, it is as the rightful heir to (former) president Felix Houphouet Boigny and as a convinced and sincere democrat that I will transfer power, in accordance with the law, to the new president freely chosen by the Ivorian people," Guei said. "All measures have been taken, and others will follow, so that the people of Ivory Coast can freely express themselves on October 22 and choose without constraint and in total transparence who will lead them towards their new destiny," he added. The general, in power since a December 24 military coup, called on voters not to respect the boycott called by the former ruling Ivory Coast Democratic Party (PDCI) and the Rally of Republicans (RDR) led by former prime minister Alassane Ouattara. Both parties had their candidates disqualified from the presidential race by a Supreme Court ruling rendered October 6. "Do not listen to those voices who call you to boycott these elections, for they are the ones who want trouble for our country," Guei said. "Those voices are for the most part the voices of our compatriots who do not hesitate to sell their conscience in placing themselves above the overall interest of Ivorians and of Ivory Coast." Guei again defended the decision "taken entirely independently of any other authority" by the constitutional chamber of the Supreme Court, whose members he appointed and which is headed by his former legal adviser. The general also announced that Ivory Coast's borders and airports will be closed from 10:00 pm (2200 GMT) until 8:00 am (0800 GMT) every evening from Friday until Monday, the measure being lifted at 8:00 am Tuesday. "This security precaution is to guarantee the peace and stability of our country and should not be seen as an electoral strategy," Guei said. so/crl/sst _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------