The European Union has agreed to ban Ivory Coast's incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo over disputed elections. According to a diplomat, the agreement had been taken in principle to ban Mr. Gbagbo and 18 of his allies from the European Union. He said the move had to be officially adopted by European Union leaders within the next 24-48 hours but said this was a formality as all member states backed it. French President Nicolas Sarkozy had given Mr. Gbagbo a deadline of Sunday to step down. Meanwhile, the United Nations, the West and African leaders have said Mr Ouattara was the victor. Mr. Gbagbo and his rival Alassane Ouattara both say they won last month's election and have each named cabinet ministers amid a stand-off in the main city Abidjan.