The African Union suspended the Ivory Coast Thursday after Laurent Gbagbo failed to heed its call to stand down as president and respect election results that handed victory to his rival.

"The decision which was taken was to suspend Ivory Coast from participating in the activities of the African Union until the democratically elected president Alassane Ouattara takes power," AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra told reporters.

The 53-nation bloc's decision came after a meeting at its Addis Ababa headquarters over the Ivory Coast crisis and the situation in Guinea, which also held elections last month.

But the results were overruled by the head of the Constitutional Council, a Gbagbo supporter, who cited vote-rigging in Ouattara's strongholds in the north.

The two men have stuck to their guns, both being sworn in as president and appointing governments.

The United Nations and regional body ECOWAS have also thrown their weight behind Ouattara, while Kenya and South Africa have called on Gbagbo to accept defeat.

The AU meeting meanwhile reinstated Guinea two years after it was suspended when a military junta seized power following the death of long-serving president Lansana Conte.

Guinea's two years of military government ended after the election last month of Alpha Conde, a veteran opposition leader who became the country's first democratically elected leader since independence from France in 1958.
 

(Source: AFP)