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The October Crises in Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast avoided a civil war due to the willingness of leaders to talk rather than shoot. On 22 October: Ivory Coast held new presidential elections. General Robert Guei, the current military dictator, was running against Laurent Gbago. Another opposition leader, Alassane Dramane Quattara, boycotted the elections, claiming that they were corrupt and fatally flawed. On 24 October: General Robert Guei declared himself the winner of the presidential elections. Riots broke out almost immediately as supporters of Guei and Gbago clashed in the streets of Abidjan (the commercial capital). On 25 October: Laurent Gbago declared himself president. Public support swiftly switched to Gbago, and the Army switched its support to him. General Guei fled to Benin. On 26 October: Supporters of Gbago clashed in the streets with supporters of Quattara while members of the security forces stood aside. By 27 October: Gbago and Quattara jointly appealed for calm and said they would meet to resolve their differences. --Stephen V Cole