The UN Security Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to give Ivorian Premier Charles Konan Banny sweeping powers to lead a one-year transition to new polls in the divided west African country, the council's president said.
Peru's UN envoy Jorge Voto-Bernales, the president of the council for November, announced that all 15 council members had approved a French-drafted resolution that also endorsed a decision by the African Union to keep Banny and Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo in their respective posts for "a new and final transition period not exceeding 12 months."
France's UN Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere immediately welcomed the adoption of what he called a "good text which will help Ivorians find a way out of their (political crisis)."
He said the resolution gives Konan Banny, a banker with no political experience but a reputation for fairness and toughness, "the necessary powers" to lead the former French colony toward free and fair elections.
He said the text reinforced the African Union's message that "empowering the prime minister was the key" to breaking the political stalemate in the cocoa-rich west African country.
The vote was delayed by 24 hours after four countries -- China, Russia, Tanzania and the United States -- expressed reservations about the scope of the powers being granted to the prime minister relative to those of the president under the Ivorian constitution.
Agreement was ultimately reached after France made some concessions on this point.
The text states that the prime minister "must have all the necessary powers and all appropriate financial, material and human resources, as well as full and unfettered authority, consistent with ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) recommendations, and must be empowered to take all the necessary decisions, in all matters, within the council of ministers or the council of government, by ordinances or decree-laws."
It also stresses that the premier "must have the necessary authority over the defence and security forces" of Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast's UN envoy Philippe Djangone-Bi insisted that in his judgement the resolution did not mean that the Ivorian constitution had been revoked and that Gbagbo had to cede all his powers to Konan Banny.
He said the prime minister would be given only the powers "necessary" for the purpose of leading the country to elections.
The French text offered compromise language that states that "the full implementation of the present resolution ... requires full compliance by all Ivorian parties and that no legal provisions should be invoked by them to obstruct the process."
Gbagbo was elected in 2000 for a five-year mandate. Elections were set for last October, but the United Nations extended Gbagbo's tenure for a year while empowering Konan Banny to oversee a transitional period until presidential and general elections.
Gbagbo is regarded by some as an obstacle to the peace process and remains reluctant to give up his authority, defined by the country's constitution.
The resolution also makes it clear that the prime minister "shall not be eligible to stand for the presidential elections to be organised by October 31 2007."