A/HRC/19/72 the UNOCI Human Rights Division and his staff in Abidjan, Odiénné, Korhogo, Bouaké, Daloa and Duékoué, for their full cooperation in organizing his visits. II. General situation in the country A. Political context 9. Côte d’Ivoire, long considered a model of development and stability on the African continent, has for the past decade endured a tragic armed conflict that has left lasting marks in its populations’ individual and collective consciences. A year ago the presidential election, which had been expected to close the door on 10 years of conflict, had instead led to a crisis resulting in more than 3,000 deaths, thousands of refugees and internally displaced people, and destruction of property. 10. On 11 December 2011, the country’s citizens elected, from a field of 1,157 candidates, 255 representatives for the 2011–2016 legislative term. This was the first election held since the presidential election of November 2010 and the first legislative election since 2000. The Front Populaire Ivoirien was weakened by the post-election crisis after the arrest or exile of its leaders, including Laurent Gbagbo, who is now being held by the International Criminal Court. Despite the call by the Front Populaire Ivoirien to boycott the elections, around ten of its members ran as independent candidates. 11. The independent expert visited several polling stations in Abidjan, accompanied by diplomats and heads of agencies, as part of the observer mission organized by the Special Representative. In the view of regional and international observers, the elections generally proceeded smoothly. Recorded incidents were not such as to call the results into question. 12. On 15 December 2011 the Independent Electoral Commission published the election results, according to which President Ouattara’s party, Rassemblement des Républicains, had won 127 seats, or 50 per cent of the total. The other results were as follows: Parti Démocratique de Côte d’Ivoire – 77 seats, or 30.31 per cent; independent candidates – 35 seats, or 13.78 per cent; Union pour la Démocratie et la Paix – 7 seats, or 2.76 per cent; Rassemblement des Houphouétistes pour la Démocratie et la Paix – 4 seats, or 1.57 per cent; Mouvement des Forces d’Avenir – 3 seats, or 1.18 per cent; and Union pour la Côte d’Ivoire – 1 seat, or 0.39 per cent. 13. According to the Independent Electoral Commission the level of participation was 36.56 per cent. This relatively low level can be explained in particular by the traumatic effect on the population of the violence that followed the most recent presidential election. 14. The independent expert regrets that efforts by the Government and the Special Representative of the United Nations to convince all political parties to participate in the elections were not successful. Their participation could have strengthened national reconciliation and the country’s fragile democracy. The leaders of the Front Populaire Ivoirien with whom the independent expert met interpreted the low level of participation in the legislative elections as the population’s condemnation of the Government through a boycott, which the Front Populaire Ivoirien had in fact called for. They also complained that their leaders had been detained and their assets frozen. B. The challenge of identity 15. The crisis in Côte d’Ivoire conceals an important facet of the identity crisis associated with the country’s multiculturalism. This identity crisis in turn stems from the GE.12-10060 5