Political situation in Ivory Coast

No opposition candidates as Ivory Coast heads to the polls

Incumbent President Alassane Ouattara is the clear favorite for today's presidential election in Ivory Coast, reports AFP. 83-year-old Ouattara has been in power in the country since 2011, and if he wins, it will be his fourth term as president.

Although five candidates are running, the most important names from the opposition are missing. Former President Laurent Gbagbo and former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam have both been barred from running.

- It is difficult to imagine any surprises in this election, says Gilles Yab from the think tank Wathi.

Their parties have instead called for protests against Ouattara and four people have been killed in connection with unrest ahead of the election. 44,000 members of the country's security forces have been ordered onto the streets to quell the protests and a nighttime curfew has been imposed in the capital region ahead of the election.

Landry, 22: Tired of old people making decisions about us

Despite the average age of the Ivory Coast population being just 18, no candidate in today's presidential election is younger than 60, writes Reuters. The big favorite, incumbent President Alassane Ouattara, is 83.

Many younger people have grown frustrated with the aging political elite.

- We are tired of seeing old people making decisions that affect us, the younger generation, says 22-year-old student Landry Ka.

The country has a history of violence in connection with elections and this year's elections were preceded by a massive security operation to quell protests against Ouattara.

More than 250 people have been arrested and around 30 have been sentenced to prison for participating in protests. This has prompted Amnesty International, among others, to express concern, writes The Guardian.

“All those detained solely for peacefully exercising their human rights should be immediately released,” said Marceau Sivieude, the organization’s director for West and Central Africa, in a statement.