5.1.11

#5 Côte d'Ivoire has too many governments


Cote D'Ivoire is a country with two presidents. In November 2010 the country went to elections that were originally meant to be held in 2005 but were repeatedly postponed due to the Ivorian Civil War. The elections were won by the opposition, but the sitting President Laurent Gbagbo was not too keen to give up his post (unlike Mr. Nepal). So he simply decided not to hand the power over to the new government. Not to be outclassed, Alassane Ouattara, the winning candidate set up his own rival government. Both guys took the presidential oath and named cabinets.

Currently, Gbagbo holds on to the Presidential Palace while Ouattara is holed up in a hotel nearby. Ouattara has held Cabinet meetings in a tent on the hotel's lawn and is using the fax machine in the hotel manager's office to communicate with foreign embassies. Both governments keep issuing orders to the civil and military servants outside their offices and absolutely no one has any idea which ones to follow.

At least you know where both the presidents are unlike…

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