Cote d'Ivoire: Crisis and Stalemate to Gbagbo's Rescue

Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo asked Sept. 7 that Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny, who resigned his government Sept. 6, form a new government. Two events triggered Banny's resignation: the government's ineffective response to the dumping of toxic waste at sites across Abidjan — which killed at least three and sickened hundreds — and Banny's failure to broker an agreement at a Sept. 5 minisummit aimed at breaking the impasse impeding national elections. Gbagbo will exploit Banny's setback to strengthen his hold on the presidency and to delay the country's peace process longer.