UN to give power to Ivorian PM

According to South Africa's Daily Mail and Guardian, the UN Security Council is preparing a resolution that would make Côte d'Ivoire's non-partisan prime minister effectively the leader of the country.

The resolution would give Charles Konan Banny full military and civilian authority to run the country for another year pending new elections, who would be empowered to "take all necessary decisions" in the government by "ordinances or decree" and appoint both civilian and military officials.

Additionally the five-page measures say Banny would supervise disarmament and "the identification of population and registration of voters in order to compile credible electoral rolls"

President Laurent Gbagbo's constitutional mandate expired last October but was extended another year by the Security Council because the northern half of the country is controlled by the Forces nouvelles rebel group.

Even if Gbagbo were to agree to the UN's conditions, it's almost inconceivable that the terrorist mafiosi Jeunes patriotes, who nominally support Gbagbo, would ever accept such a measure.