The African Union (AU) suspended Ivory Coast Thursday. The West African nation is barred from participating in further AU activities "until the democratically elected President Alassane Ouattara takes power", the organisation's Peace and Security Commissionner said Thursday.

The country's electoral commission has declared Ouattara the winner by nearly 10 points, following Ivory Coast's Nov. 28 presidential elections. But the Constitutional Council — headed by a Gbagbo ally — overruled that result, charging fraud in some areas, and declared Gbagbo winner. Earlier Thursday, the UN Security Council also came out in support of Ouattara, officially backing him as the winner of the disputed elections and thereby bolstering his challenge to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo. But the Security Council’s statement had been held up since last Friday by Russia after the country voiced concerns that the UN would be overstepping its mandate by taking sides in the results of the Ivory Coast presidential election.