Ivory Coast president dissolves government
Alassane Ouattara, the president of Ivory Coast, has dissolved his cabinet in a surprise move that suggests instability at the heart of a country still struggling to get back on its feet after a near civil war.
The presidential spokeswoman, Kady Traore, confirmed that Ouattara had dissolved his government but gave no reason why he had done so.
Ouattara came to power in a deeply divisive election in 2010. He won the presidential runoff but the longtime ruler, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to concede victory, and used the army to hold on to power. It took United Nations air strikes to finally release Gbagbo's grip on power. He was arrested in April 2011, paving the way for Ouattara to assume control of the country he had been elected to run.
A presidential aide, who requested anonymity because he was unauthorised to speak on the matter, said the dissolution had come after the government attempted to pass a new family law that would have given equal rights to men and women.
The statute was introduced by the minister of women's affairs, who is from a political party whose candidate backed Ouattara during the 2010 runoff, giving him the votes he needed to defeat Gbagbo. In return, the prime minister Ouattara chose was a member of that party, called the PDCI. However, the aide said, the new law was nearly blocked once it reached the parliament earlier this week after delegates from the PDCI refused to back it.
"You can say that this was the drop of water that made the vase overflow," the aide said. "The president is not happy because he tells himself: 'The prime minister is PDCI; two of my other ministers are also PDCI.' And yet when his government proposed this law, it is the PDCI that tried to block him. He doesn't understand what is going on, and I think he wants to start afresh."
Analysts have long said Ouattara's rule is precarious. Not only did he have to enlist the PDCI to win; after Gbagbo refused to step down, Ouattara accepted military help from a rebel group that is now accused of carrying out mass atrocities against members of ethnic groups known to be allied with the former president.
His rule has been chequered with accusations that he has been unfair in his dealings with members of Gbagbo's party. Dozens of Gbagbo associates are still under house arrest awaiting trial.
Human rights groups have published voluminous reports detailing extensive abuses by the former Force Nouvelle, a rebel group based in the country's north that allied itself with Ouattara and helped him seize back power.
For the past few months, suspected allies of Gbagbo have led increasingly brazen attacks on military positions in Ivory Coast, including in Abidjan.