ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – The party of former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo says it will not take part in local elections scheduled next month.
At a press conference Thursday, Richard Kodjo, the party's acting secretary-general, said no members of the party should participate, and that any who did would be disciplined.
Gbagbo's refusal to leave office despite losing the November 2010 presidential runoff to current President Alassane Ouattara sparked five months of violence in this country.
Kodjo said the lack of progress in fostering dialogue between the two camps as well as the fact that no Ouattara supporters have been charged for crimes committed during the conflict prompted his party to boycott the vote.
The party also boycotted legislative elections held in late 2011, although some Gbagbo loyalists ran as independent candidates.
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