A/56/253 the rejection of its candidates, had also appealed to its members to conduct a peaceful boycott of the presidential election of 22 October 2000, disassociated itself from RDR, which had urged its members to contest the victory of candidate Laurent Gbagbo, despite the fact that Mr. Gbagbo had long been an adversary of PCDI/RDA. “Côte d’Ivoire, which had up to that time been considered a haven of peace and stability and recognized as the driving force in the sub-region of countries making up the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), has had a vital steadying effect in West Africa. “Indeed, it welcomed the efforts made by the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the European Union, the International Organization of la Francophonie and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to bring about a rapprochement among political leaders and support the transition process. Those efforts bear witness to the interest of those bodies in Côte d’Ivoire. Quite independently, however, the nation’s legislators drafted a new Electoral Code and a new Constitution, which were adopted on 22 and 23 July 2000 by an enormous vote of more than 86%. Article 35 of that Constitution establishes the conditions of eligibility for the office of president, which all the political parties, including RDR, requested their active members to approve. “This popular decision, the transparency of which was hailed by the international community, should suffice to put an end to the debate and speculation that preceded and followed the election, the tone of which in many ways irritated the sovereign people of Côte d’Ivoire, which is still the most integrationist country of ECOWAS and intends to remain so. “It is above all the intention of the Ivorian people, in adopting that Constitution, to entrust a single office, that of President of the Republic, to a citizen of well established origins; that is not something that should serve as a pretext for the propagation of shrewdly orchestrated, malicious reports on Côte d’Ivoire and its people. “The clashes to which you allude are the consequence of an insidious, hateful campaign spread gradually both in Côte d’Ivoire and abroad, suggesting that Ivorians of the Muslim faith are ostracized by the Christian population in the south. Issues were lumped together intentionally, the rejection of the candidature of the RDR candidate being likened to the rejection of all Muslim populations in Côte d’Ivoire. Communities belonging to that religion in neighbouring countries then felt that they must side with those populations, and they too were determined to take a stand in the national political debate. “It is worth pointing out, for your information, that contrary to the allegations made by a certain segment of the press and by politicians, the north, which has been qualified as exclusively Muslim, does include Christians. This is evidenced by the fact that, on 20 January 2001, eight priests from that region of Côte d’Ivoire will be ordained with pomp in the sanctuary of Marial Notre Dame de la Présentation, at Ferkessédougou. “The Christian presence in the north is manifest, there are resident bishops (Korhogo, Katiola and Bondoukou, in the north-east) who, in addition 58