The Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance has criticized the United Nation’s involvement in the Ivorian leadership crises. Dr. Emmanuel Akwetey says by taking a strong position in support of the declared winner of the election, Alassane Ouattara, the UN has effectively compromised its neutrality and credibility to mediate the crisis. Though he agrees that incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo should not be tolerated, he said his supporters from the Southern half of the country cannot be ignored. According to Dr Akwetey, while Gbagbo’s illegitimacy was not in doubt, making the nation stable and governable after he has left the scene, is critical. “First of all we shouldn’t forget that already the crisis is crystallizing into a north and sought [divide] and the countries around Ivory coast all have some interest because they have nationals and citizens there and a military situation will not profit anybody,” he stated. Dr. Akwetey is of the view that President Mills remains the one significant leader who has what it takes to intervene. He said there was an urgent need for a credible arbiter, and that in his opinion could be Ghana. “We have a great deal of credibility as a country that has two presidents losing elections and going - the last one was pretty close. We have leaders who have been able to accept results even where they feel the winning side had done things that had affected their chances and… they’ve survived, they’ve come to power, or in opposition have fought on and so on. They come with a great deal of credibility that will be respected,” he explained. The IDEG boss added that President-elect Alassane Ouattara could also help by reaching out to President Gbagbo’s supporters and assuring them that they would be safe under his rule. Source: Joy News/Ghana