UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- As many as 500 peacekeepers are headed to the Ivory Coast to provide security for October presidential elections, the U.N. Security Council announced.
Civil war disrupted repeated attempts to hold presidential elections in the country, which was divided in 2002 between the government-controlled south and rebel forces in the north.
The U.N. Security Council voted to provide up to 500 peacekeepers to help with security during October elections but warned the country to take responsibility on their own.
"The members of the Security Council urge the Ivorian stakeholders to meet their commitments to organize the first round of the elections Oct. 31," read a statement from Security Council President Ertugrul Apakan, the U.N. representative from Turkey.
Y.J. Choi, the U.N. special envoy to the Ivory Coast, told reporters following the Security Council meeting that candidates in the country were "committed" to the democratic process.
"I am confident that the Oct. 31 first round will take place peacefully," he was quoted by the United Nations' news agency as saying.
A second round is scheduled for November if no clear winner emerges.
