The European Parliament,

     –   having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas as presidential was held in Côte d'Ivoire on 28 November 2010 where the two candidates Ouattara and Gbagbo claim victory,

B.  whereas Côte d’Ivoire’s Independent Electoral Commission had announced the victory of Ouattara while the country's constitutional Council overturned the result charging fraud in some areas and declared Gbagbo as the winner,

C.  worried by the deadlock following the announcement of the result by the Electoral Commission of Côte d'Ivoire declaring Ouattara as a winner of the presidential election,

D.  recalling that the objective of the election was meant to bring an end to a decade of political crisis that have divided the country,

E.  whereas the international community including UN, AU and ECOWAS recognised Ouattara as winner of Côte d’Ivoire’s presidential election,

F. whereas the African Union suspended Côte d’Ivoire until Laurent Gbagbo hands over power to Alassane Ouattara,

G. whereas periodic elections are one of the democratic means of expression of political pluralism and must be organised in accordance with internationally recognised rules,

H.  whereas the turmoil will have a negative impact on the country's economy and as a result the population will suffer from this situation,

1. Condemns any attempt to circumvent the will of the population, who participated massively, about 80%, to the vote on 28 November to elect their president;

2. Calls on Mr Gbagbo to step down and hand over power to Alssane Ouattara;

3. Calls upon Mr Ouattara and Mr Gbagbo to take their responsibility in order to prevent any violence in the country and demonstrate their commitment to peaceful resolution of post electoral conflict;

4.  Deplores the declaration of Côte d’Ivoire’s Constitutional Council annulling the electoral Commission's result, which shows Ouattara winning by 54% of the vote;

5. Calls upon Côte d’Ivoire’s civil society representatives, traditional leaders and the international Community to step up their efforts to end the political polarization of the country;

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, Mr Gbagbo and Mr Alassane Ouattara, UN, African Union and ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.