Ivory Coast's president has dismissed the head of the country's constitutional council, a man who backed former president Laurent Gbagbo during the recent Ivorian political crisis.

Paul Yao N'dre was replaced Monday by veteran politician Francis Wodie, a former presidential candidate. President Alassane Ouattara named Wodie in a decree.

N'dre helped spark the power struggle between Mr. Ouattara and Mr. Gbagbo that followed last November's presidential election.

The Ivorian electoral commission had named Mr. Ouattara the winner, but N'dre, using his power as head of the council, threw out half a million votes from Ouattara strongholds and gave victory to Mr. Gbagbo.

N'dre later reversed his decision after pro-Ouattara rebels seized control of the country and captured Mr. Gbagbo in Abidjan.

He swore in Mr. Ouattara as Ivory Coast's president in May.

The United Nations says the four-month struggle between Ouattara and Gbagbo supporters killed some 3,000 people and displaced more than a million.