Issues when presidents don’t want to resign

I'm back after all the christmas celebrations and I hope everyone has had a peaceful christmas filled with joy:)

Anyways, this weeks post will be about something that caught my attention today when I watched the news.
So I decided to get some more information about it.
It’s about the current president Laurent Gdagbo of Ivory Coast who still is on the president post even though it was clear that he lost the election of November. He lost the election to his political opponent Alasanne Ouatarra who has support from the UN, former rebels, some political leaders in Africa and other Western countries.
It is of great importance that the election results are respected, because if they aren’t, the country might face a new period of conflict. That’s also what a great number of the Ivoirians fear and refugees are now fleeing to Liberia in fear of a new civil war.
A number of people also stated that when they went to vote on the day of election, there where groups of supporters from both Gdagbo’s and Ouatarra’s party that tried to make them vote for them and that was another reason why people fled in fear. The hostile situation in general is also another reason why the Ivoirians so desperately flee.
Liberia itself is not a very stabile country. They themselves suffered a 9 year civil war that ended in 2003 and are still fighting to create a somehow stabile environment in the country.
The UNHCR notes that about 4500 people have fled and that the numbers seem to increase.
An increasing number of refugees in Liberia can create a big challenge or even create a conflict. The current refugees in Liberia aren’t even in refugee camps, but are living with Liberian families. The Liberians themselves have the experience of conflict and know how it is to live like a refugee. Therefore out of compassion, they’ve opened their homes to the Ivoirians.
Rising problems are the lack of clean water and medical help. Many refugees are suffering from different diseases and need immediate help.

If the hostile situation in Ivory Coast develops it might be threatening to countries around them as well. Today’s situation makes the future of the West African countries uncertain. Everything lies in how the situation in Ivory Coast develops.

Stay tuned for next post:)