ABIDJAN: Ivory Coast announced a new government Wednesday in another step towards re-establishing itself after a five-month dispute over presidential elections that descended into deadly violence. The line-up of 36 ministers does not feature the party of Laurent Gbagbo, the former president who refused to step down after November elections, leading to the violence. The new government is headed by Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, who is also defence minister, government spokesman Amadou Gon Coulibaly told reporters. It includes 14 members of President Alassane Ouattara's Rally of the Republicans party and eight from the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast of his main ally, former president Henri Konan Bedie. One-time rebel movement the New Forces has five members in the cabinet, one of them being Soro, while five ministers are from civil society. The remaining portfolios are held by smaller parties, with Gbagbo's Popular Ivorian Front absent.
