Opposition front-runner Alassane Ouattara and other challengers to President Laurent Gbagbo had urged authorities to hold a recount of ballots from the Oct. 31 poll, citing irregularities that they say led to hundreds of thousands of votes being tallied inaccurately.
But council president Paul Yao N’Dre announced the certified result in a statement broadcast on national television late Saturday, making no changes to the provisional outcome released during the week. N’Dre also said the second round would be held Nov. 21, a week earlier than expected.
Gbagbo came in first place in last weekend’s election, winning just over 38 percent of the vote, compared to about 32 percent for Ouattara — both short of the simple majority needed to avoid a second round.
