Côte d'Ivoire is voting in a presidential election on Saturday with incumbent Alassane Ouattara, 83, seeking a fourth term in office. He is being challenged by four opposition candidates.
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. He claims credit for nearly 15 years of economic growth and relative stability.
The war was triggered by the refusal of his predecessor, Laurent Gbagbo, to acknowledge election defeat in the 2010 election.
Côte d'Ivoire, the world's biggest cocoa producer, is among the fastest-growing economies in West Africa and its international bonds are some of the best performing in Africa.
How winner emerges
Several prominent contenders have been barred from running, weakening the challenge against Ouattara.
Notably, Tidjane Thiam of the PDCI party has been excluded from the electoral roll over his dual Ivorian and French nationality. Former President Laurent Gbagbo of the PPA-CI has also been excluded.
Their parties have not fielded alternative candidates. 61-year-old Jean-Louis Billon, who broke away from Tidjane Thiam's PDCI party, is now running under Democratic Congress
(CODE).
Many see 76- year-old former First Lady Simone Éhivet Gbagbo as a surprising presence in the race. She stepped forward as the candidate of the Movement of Capable Generations (MGC) after her ex-husband Laurent Gbagbo was barred.
On his part, 67-year-old Ahoua Don-Mello is an independent candidate after being expelled by Gbagbo’s PPA-CI party. He was a long-time ally of the former president.
There is also 66-year-old Henriette Lagou Adjoua, who leads the Group of Political Partners for Peace (GP-PAIX).
Incumbent President Alassane Ouratara announced his controversial fourth term bid in July after changing the constitution.
More than eight million people are registered to vote. Polling stations are due to open at 0800 GMT and close at 1800 GMT.
Provisional results are expected within five days. A runoff will be held if no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote.
Maintaining law and order
Though Côte d'Ivoire has a history of election-related violence, this year's campaign has been mostly calm, with scattered protests in numerous locations including the political capital Yamoussoukro.
The government has deployed 44,000 members of the security forces throughout the country and enforced a ban on protests.
Hundreds have been arrested, and the interior ministry said dozens had received prison terms of up to three years for offences, including disturbing public order.
Government spokesperson Patrick Achi, a former prime minister, told Reuters that the government protected freedom of speech but was also determined to maintain order.
"Let's keep stability, and then the generation to come will improve. But at least the economy that went through so much won't again be destroyed," he said.
