UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The electoral commission in the Ivory Coast announced Thursday that opposition leader Alassane Ouattara won a runoff, though a court contested the result.
Backers of incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo complained of fraud in the rebel-held north, where Ouattara draws support.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over the delays in announcing the outcome of presidential elections in the Ivory Coast.
A constitutional court said the delay from the election commission means the matter was now in judicial hands, the BBC reports. The British broadcaster said Ouattara was declared the winner by the election commission, though the court was challenging the claim.
The first round of voting in a presidential contest was inconclusive, leading to a second round Sunday.
Elections in 2000, the United Nations said, were marred by violence when supporters of Gbagbo took to the streets after military leader Robert Guei declared himself the winner.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement noted that election was an important process in the step toward reunification, as the country was split into pro-government and pro-rebel camps during civil war in 2002.
Several people were killed, meanwhile, in post-election violence.
