A law approved by Ivory Coast's parliament to allow an opposition leader to run in presidential elections must be put to a referendum, Ivory Coast's President Laurent Gbagbo said on Saturday. "Neither the government nor the parliament has the power to modify articles 35 and 55 of the constitution," Gbagbo told a crowd of young people at the opening of a pan-African youth meeting. "It will be me who makes a speech on TV to give you the date of the referendum on a modification of the constitution." On Friday parliament approved a constitutional change to allow presidential candidates with only one Ivorian parent, a key demand of rebels holding Ivory Coast's north as it would clear the way for opposition leader Alassane Ouattara to run. Gbagbo's supporters insist the issue goes to a referendum even though they dropped a clause in Friday's bill specifying just that. The rebels do not want a referendum as a popular vote could not take place until after the rebel New Forces disarm, a stance they reject. --More 2302 Local Time 2002 GMT
