Market in Adjamé section of Abidjan in Ivory Coast     /  Wikipedia /  Georges Hermann Njiale Njiale

By Sara Abraham    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

ABIDJAN –  Côte d’Ivoire  –   All appears calm on the streets of Abidjan as Ivorians go to the polls Saturday to vote in one of the most watched and anticipated presidential elections in Africa this year.  However, tension remains high as the government is reportedly deploying  some 35,000 security force members on election day to maintain peace. At least 20 people have been killed in inter-communal clashes and in confrontations between security forces and supporters of opposition parties in several localities of Côte d’Ivoire in the run-up to the 31 October elections.  The U.N. human rights office called for an end to violence and intimidation as the elections proceeds in the West African nation.   Violence has escalated amid anger over President Alassane Ouattara’s decision to run for a third term many condemn as “illegal” and against the west African nation’s constitution.   President Ouattara shocked the country in August when he formally accepted the nomination of the ruling party to be its candidate in October’s election.  The main opposition candidates, Pascal Affi N’Guessan and Henri Konan Bédié,  declared it is illegal for Ouattara to stand for a third term and are boycotting the election. 

According to the constitution, Ivory Coast has a two-term presidential limit.  Prsident Ouattara – who has been elected twice – initially said he would stand down.  The election is taking place a decade after a post-electoral crisis left more than 3,000 people dead.