Laurent Gbagbo was elected president by one council in the Ivory Coast . Once a prosperous nation and a driving force in West Africa , the Ivory Coast spiraled downward into instability after fighting erupted between the government-held south and discontented Muslim rebels living in the north . Another council named former Prime Minister Alpha Ouattara the president . The political chaos has raised fears of unrest and bloodshed in the West African nation .
Laurent Gbagbo was elected president by one council in the Ivory Coast . Another council named former Prime Minister Alpha Ouattara the president . The political chaos has raised fears of unrest and bloodshed in the West African nation .