Votes to be counted manually in Cote d'Ivoire's presidential elections

Photo taken on Oct. 21, 2010 shows placards publicizing presidential candidates in Abidjan, Cote Divoire. Cote Divoire will held presidential election on Oct. 31. 
Counting of votes for Cote d'Ivoire's presidential elections scheduled for Oct. 31 will be done manually, according to the West African country's Independent Electoral Commission (CEI).

"Any other technological means has been rejected and therefore CEI will just count votes manually," CEI spokesman Bamba Yacouba said here on Thursday.

Bamba said the CEI president will announce the election outcome after the "physical delivery" of results to Abidjan from polling stations by supervisors designated to various regions across the country.

The United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (ONUCI) on Thursday asked CEI to put in place appropriate measures to ensure that results are handled with integrity and released transparently.

The electoral map has 10,179 polling stations across the country. Over 5.7 million people are expected to vote during this historic election.

The law gives CEI three days to declare provisional results before they are validated by the Constitutional Council.

Source: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/7174700.html