ICoast-vote-US
   US "condemns" exclusion of 14 Ivory Coast presidential candidates

   WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (AFP) - The United States on Saturday condemned the
exclusion of 14 presidential candidates from Ivory Coast's upcoming
election,
and said it was suspending assistance to vote preparations, according to a
State Department spokesman.
   "This unjust decision robs the Ivorian people of any meaningful choice
in
those elections," said spokesman Richard Boucher, on Friday's Ivory Coast
Supreme Court ruling that disqualified all but five of the 19 presidential
contenders.
   The ruling, which prevents most serious challengers to military leader
Robert Guei from participating in the election, "excludes large segments of
Ivorian society from representation and participation in political
processes
to choose their country's leadership," the spokesman said.
   "The ineligibility of so many candidates, including the leaders of the
primary opposition parties, makes a mockery of basic democratic
principles,"
Boucher said in a statement.
   "We deeply regret that General Guei and his junta have chosen to reject
the
course of open and inclusive elections.
   "As a consequence, the United States will suspend its assistance to
election preparation" in Ivory Coast, he added.
   The United States urged other donor nations to follow suit in suspending
electoral aid in the statement.
   Guei is to run against four other candidates, the only other candidate
considered a heavyweight being Laurent Gbagbo, leader of the Ivorian
Popular
Front (FPI).
   The FPI won the same number of seats as opposition presidential
candidate
and former prime minister Alassane Ouattara's Rally of Republicans (RDR) in
the last election.
   Outtara who was also barred from running in the electoral race, is
considered by many to be a major electoral threat to Guei. He said Guei had
approved the list of candidates and that he wanted adversaries he could
easily
beat.
   He noted that all five candidates of the former ruling Democratic Party
of
Ivory Coast (PDCI) were among those eliminated from the running, saying it
was
further evidence of Guei's desire to fix the election in his favor.
   Both the RDR and the PDCI were meeting Saturday to consider their next
move. No appeal is available against the Supreme Court decision.
   crl-ejp/jlp

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