Ivorians voted in a presidential election on Saturday, with incumbent Alassane Ouattara, 83, claiming credit for nearly 15 years of economic growth and relative stability while strongly hinting it will be his final campaign.
The election in the world’s biggest cocoa producer pits Ouattara against two former government ministers as well as the ex-wife and former spokesperson for his predecessor, Laurent Gbagbo.
Ouattara is the only candidate with the backing of a strong political party, making him the clear favourite.
A former international banker and deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Ouattara took power in 2011 after a four-month civil war that killed around 3 000 people.
The war was triggered by the refusal of his predecessor, Laurent Gbagbo, to acknowledge defeat in the 2010 election.
Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, former CEO of Credit Suisse, were deemed ineligible to run this year.
