With the holding of the presidential elections, the year was considered to be the final step towards the resolution of the crisis that broke out in September 2002. Planned for early March 2010, the elections were postponed for the seventh time and President Gbagbo confirmed his nickname, the 'boulanger', the baker rolling his opponents in flour. Confident, on the basis of favourable opinion polls, that he would win, Gbagbo did not interfere in the final scheduling - and he lost. The two-ballot elections were held on 31 October and 28 November, and Alassane Ouattara clearly defeated Gbagbo with a nearly 10% margin. However, Gbagbo refused to step down, appointed a parallel government and plunged the country in a state of chaos that threatened West Africa's stability.