You lose and form a coalition!” said President Kikwete, while laughing as he moved away from journalists to a presidential vehicle.

There's a trend among certain African leadership and it's been encouraged by the Robert Mugabes and Mwai Kibakis of the world, that if you lose an election there's a second way: you get mediators in and cut a deal.
Lusaka. President Jakaya Kikwete has expressed optimism that there will be compromise and a solution in Cote d’Ivoire’s post-election crisis negotiations and peace will prevail.

Responding to questions from journalists at Lusaka International Airport on his arrival for the international conference on the Great Lakes Region, President Kikwete said there were “able hands” handling the crisis in Cote d’Ivoire.
“We wish the Ivorians well. We hope the negotiations will go well, and at the end of the day there will be compromise, solution, everybody is going to be happy and the people of Cote d’Ivoire will have peace at last,” said President Kikwete.

Asked to comment on the emerging trend of post-election disputes induced coalition/unity governments in Africa, President Kikwete poked fun at leaders that were clinging to power by pushing for coalition governments after losing elections.

“You lose and form a coalition!” said President Kikwete, while laughing as he moved away from journalists to a presidential vehicle.

Cote d’Ivoire incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo has refused to hand over power to opposition leader Alassane Ouattara – who is backed by the UN, African Union, regional bloc Ecowas, former coloniser France, the US government and the entire international community – after the latter won the run off presidential election, according to the independent electoral commission results verified by the UN.

The country’s Constitutional Court headed by an ally of Mr Gbagbo, who enjoys the backing of the armed forces, overturned Mr Ouattara’s victory in favour of the incumbent on allegations of vote fraud in the opposition leader’s northern region stronghold, leading to both men swearing themselves in as president.

THE GBAGBO FILE
Born On 31 May 1945 in Gagnoa, Ivory Coast, the son of Zepe Paul Koudou and Gado Marguerite Koudou Paul.Married Jacqueline Chanoos in 1967 (divorced 1982). Currently, he has two wives – Simone Ehivet and Nady Bamba – and several children. Educated at the Sorbonne, he was a professor of history.


Best of times He was inaugurated as president of Ivory Coast on 26 October 2000. However, the honeymoon did not last. There were immediate calls for fresh elections.


Worst of times Right now. Gbagbo is almost universally agreed to have lost the presidency.With his regional neighbours turning against him, he seems to have run out of friends except for his notorious youth militia, the Young Patriots.


What he says "I have not changed," he said, denying charges of opportunism during an outbreak of xenophobia. "You must change your glasses."


What others say "It's easy to say Laurent Gbagbo is a stubborn, silly man but if you start waving a pistol you have to look at who's got a pistol on his side. There are plenty of people in Africa who have stolen elections, but no one has tried it after the results are announced. It's like watching a slow-motion car crash."

Next year is a critical one for African governance with a referendum on southern Sudan's independence and presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Madagascar, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and possibly Zimbabwe, where Mugabe may take heart from Gbagbo's refusal to budge.

was hoped Africa had seen the last of "big men" such as Idi Amin, Jean-Bédel Bokassa and Mobutu Sese Seko. Laurent Gbagbo, the Latin-loving history man, was once a pro-democracy hero