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The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the fact that the United Nations Security Council has met to discuss the political crisis in Cote d’Ivoire, and shall be further considering a course of action after the disputed election results. However, before the international community can reach a decision on the way forward in Cote d’Ivoire, the major players should make their positions public for, without such direction, there can be little hope of achieving a desired result.

In this regard, the DA must register our disappointment with the Zuma administration’s studied reticence on the matter of this disputed election. As a member of the UN’s Security Council and one of the African continent’s leading states, South Africa should be taking the lead in recognising the majority winner of a legitimate and democratic election and denouncing those forces that would seek to subvert proper democratic processes. This is especially necessary in light of the Zuma administration’s ostensible commitment to the promotion of democracy and human rights on the continent. Indeed, when we began our latest tenure on the Security Council, the Zuma administration reaffirmed its supposed commitment to demonstrating its leadership on the continent and indeed the world.

It is time to demonstrate that leadership. The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has already taken the lead in recognising the election of Mr. Ouattara. This recognition is most welcome. However, we as a country and a continent should be doing more to encourage democracy ourselves. While we welcome the fact that the African Union (AU) has dispatched former President Thabo Mbeki as mediator, he should be going with a solid remit to emphasise the primacy of democratic majorities on the continent. Mr. Mbeki’s mandate must be to ensure that democracy takes it course in Cote d’Ivoire.

In this regard, I shall be writing today to the Minister of International Relations, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, asking her to recognise, on behalf of the South African government, the election of Mr. Ouattara in Cote d’Ivoire. It is quite clear that Mr. Ouattara won last week’s presidential election. He has been certified as the victor by the country’s Independent Electoral Commission, by credible observers, by the United Nations, France and the broader international community.

Already the United Nations has assigned an additional 2,000 peacekeepers to Abidjan. This peacekeeping contingent may well need to be expanded, and the AU needs to place its own peacekeepers on standby, in case the crisis should escalate. Civil war in Cote d’Ivoire would create a horrifying humanitarian situation in that country, and mark a terrible setback for democracy in the region. This is clearly the outcome that needs to be averted at all costs, as what makes the circumstances exceptionally precarious is the fact that both Mr. Gbagbo and Mr. Ouattara have sizeable militia under their control.

The international community, led by ECOWAS, the AU and the UN, need to do everything in their power to maintain peace in Cote d’Ivoire, and to allow Mr. Ouattara to assume the presidency that he has rightfully won. This means a demonstration, via both diplomatic channels and the deployment of a sufficiently sized peacekeeping force, that the international community will not settle for any outcome except that which sees Mr. Ouattara rightly installed as president.