* Government commmitted to Nov. 29 election date - mediator * Parties urged to respect timetable for poll preparations OUAGADOUGOU, May 18 (Reuters) - The African leader seeking to broker an end to Ivory Coast's six-year political gridlock hailed a new Nov. 29 election date on Monday as a real chance for the world's top cocoa grower to emerge from the stalemate. Last week's announcement of the date met with scepticism by analysts who warned it could slip like others before it, citing what they see a lack of political will by incumbent Ivorian leaders benefiting from the political uncertainty. But Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore said before a new round of mediation talks that President Laurent Gbagbo's government was committed to holding a poll aimed at reuniting a country whose north has been in the hands of rebels since a 2002-03 civil war. "(It) marks a decisive turning point in the process and shows the firm will of the government to ensure republican institutions function properly," Compaore told reporters. He called on Ivorian parties to stick closely to a timetable for election preparations, including early completion of voter identification, a much-delayed process cited as being behind previous postponements. Polls are seen as a necessary precursor for reforms of the cocoa sector, which provides 40 percent of global supply but is struggling with ageing plantations, lagging interest amongst farmers and allegations of corrupt administrators. The mediation talks in the Burkinabe capital were the fifth such round since Compaore secured the 2007 Ouagadougou Accord which made Guillaume Soro, a former rebel, prime minister. (Reporting by Mathieu Bonkoungou; writing by Mark John)
Ivory Coast officials walk behind a wreath during a memorial ceremony for victims of a stadium crush at Felix Houphouet Boigny stadium in Abidjan April 1, 2009. At least 19 people ...
