Voters in the Ivory Coast are casting ballots for president with incumbent Alassane Ouattara the overwhelming favourite as he runs for a fourth term.
Nearly nine million Ivorians will vote on Saturday from 8am to 6pm (08:00 to 18:00 GMT), choosing from a field of five contenders.
Opposition heavyweights, however, aren’t running for the post. Former President Laurent Gbagbo and former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam have been barred from standing, the former for a criminal conviction and the latter for acquiring French citizenship.
Critics said the exclusion of key candidates has given Ouattara, 83, an unfair advantage and essentially cleared the way for his fourth term.
None of his four rivals represents an established party nor do they have the reach of the ruling Rally of Houphouetistes for Democracy and Peace (RHDP).
Agribusinessman and former Trade Minister Jean-Louis Billon, 60, hopes to rally backers from his former party, the Democratic Party, while former first lady Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, 76, is looking to garner votes from supporters of her ex-husband.
The left-wing vote hangs in the balance between Gbagbo and Ahoua Don Mello, a civil engineer and independent Pan-African with Russian sympathies. Henriette Lagou Adjoua, one of the first two women to run for the presidency during the 2015 election, is representing a centrist coalition, the Group of Political Partners for Peace.
At the Riviera Golf 1 Primary School in the Ivory Coast’s economic capital, Abidjan, where Gbagbo is expected to cast her vote, the atmosphere appeared calm as the first voters began to queue in the early hours of Saturday.
“This vote means a lot to us,” Konate Adama told Al Jazeera. “We need a candidate to emerge from these elections. It will lead us towards peace, wisdom and tranquillity.”
Turnout will be key as the opposition continues to call for a boycott. About 8.7 million people aged above 18 are eligible to vote in a country of 33 million with a median age of 18.3.
To win, a candidate must take an absolute majority of the votes. A second round will take place if no one clears that hurdle.
Controversial fourth term
Results are expected early next week, and observers forecast Ouattara to win the more than 50 percent needed to secure victory in the first round.
The octogenarian has wielded power in the world’s top cocoa producer since 2011 when the country began reasserting itself as a West African economic powerhouse.
Under the constitution, presidents may serve a maximum of two terms. Ouattara argues a major constitutional change implemented in 2016 “reset” his limit.
The decision has angered his detractors. Opposition and civil society groups also complain of restrictions on Ouattara’s critics and a climate of fear.
About 44,000 security forces were deployed across the country to keep protests in check, especially in opposition strongholds in the south and west. A night-time curfew was in place on Friday and Saturday in the region where the political capital, Yamoussoukro, is located.
Authorities said they want to avoid “chaos” and a repeat of unrest surrounding the 2020 presidential election. According to official figures, 85 people died then while the opposition said there were more than 200 deaths.
Opposition parties have encouraged Ivorians to protest against Ouattara’s predicted fourth term. On Monday, an Independent Electoral Commission building was torched.
The government has responded by banning demonstrations, and the judiciary has sentenced several dozen people to three years in prison for disturbing the peace.
In 2010, the country was plunged into a conflict that killed at least 3,000 people after the presidential election between Gbagbo and Ouattara.
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