Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo must step down and hand power over to opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, who the United Nations says won a run-off election last month, the UN chief said on today.
Mr Gbagbo's attempts to hold onto power and remain the country's president "cannot be allowed to stand," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York.
The pro-Gbagbo Constitutional Council has rejected the UN-certified results that declared Mr Ouattara the winner and says Gbagbo won the vote.
The European Union today called on Ivory Coast's army to defect from incumbent Mr Gbagbo to his rival presidential claimant Mr Ouattara, a day after street clashes left at least 20 dead.
The West African state has been in turmoil since a November 28th election in which incumbent Mr Gbagbo claimed victory, with backing from the nation's top legal body, despite election commission results showing he lost to Mr Ouattara by a near ten-point margin.
"The European Council called on all Ivorian leaders, both civilian and military who have not yet done so, to place themselves under the authority of the democratically elected president, Alassane Ouattara," EU leaders said in a statement after a summit in Brussels.
The military is seen as divided, but officially is loyal to Mr Gbagbo. But his presidential guard, whose exact numbers are not known, are diehard loyalists.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy added pressure today, saying Mr Gbagbo has until the end of the week to quit the post he was "usurping" or face international sanctions, echoing a threat made last night by the United States.
Reuters