Cote d’Ivoire goes to the polls today to elect a new president, just five years after it descended into post-election violence that left more than 3,000 people dead and thousands displaced.
Incumbent President Alassane Ouattara, Pascal Affi N’Guessan and Kouadio Konan Bertin are the front runners in the presidential race.
Ouattara, a trained economist and former International Monetary Fund executive is the candidate for the ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace coalition.
Aged 73, he has promised not to seek a third term if re-elected. He has also promised lower taxes and to “lighten the social burden”.
Pascal Affi N’Guessan, a 62-year old telecommunications engineer, is the candidate for Laurent Gbagbo’s opposition Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), and is reportedly under fire from a faction of the party which wanted Gbagbo as their candidate despite him awaiting trial for the alleged crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.
N’Guessan has himself called for the release of Gbagbo, a move that has earned him a lot of support from the party faithful.
Kouadio Konan Bertin, 47, is an MP and was once youth leader in the former ruling Democratic Party of Ivory Coast.
He has pledged to bring home thousands of Ivorian political dissidents living in exile “so that we can wash our dirty linen at home”.
