UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday urged Cote d'Ivoire to speed up its peace process, saying the UN Assembly in mid-September will discuss the country's approaching elections.

Annan made the remarks at the press conference after a three-hour meeting with Ivorian government and rebel leaders in Yamoussoukro, the country's political capital.

He said the tenure of President Laurent Gbagbo would be discussed during the UN Assembly in mid-September if Cote d'Ivoire could not hold the election as scheduled in October, and the UN Security Council would decide whether to postpone the ballot.

According to the joint communique issued after the meeting, the Ivorian Independent Electoral Commission will set up offices across the country before July 31.

A joint working group will be established to monitor the implementation of the disarmament plan by the government and rebel forces, which is a key precondition for the presidential election.

Cote d'Ivoire was plunged into a civil war in September 2002 following a failed coup against President Gbagbo. It has since been divided into the government-ruled south and the rebel-held north.

The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1633 in October 2005, proposing the presidential election be held in October 2006. The UN resolution also allowed Gbagbo to extend his tenure for one more year after differences prevented the two sides from holding the planned presidential vote in October 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2006)