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At least 30 killed in violence before the elections as President Ouattara seeks a third term in office.
Ivory Coast is voting in a tense election after an opposition boycott and clashes over President Alassane Ouattara’s controversial attempt to secure a third term.
At least 30 people have died in the pre-election violence, evoking memories of a 2010-11 crisis that killed some 3,000 people.
Polling stations opened at 8 am (08:00 GMT) and will close at 6 pm (18:00 GMT).
In Saturday’s vote, Ouattara’s main rivals will be former President Henri Konan Bedie and former Prime Minister Pascal Affi N’Guessan.
Opposition leaders called for an electoral boycott and civil disobedience, although they have not formally withdrawn their candidacies.
The fourth challenger is independent candidate Kouadio Konan Bertin.
Ouattara, 78, was supposed to step aside after his second term to make way for a younger generation, but the sudden death of his chosen successor forced a change of plan.
The Ivory Coast leader, a former IMF official who has been in power since 2010, says a Constitutional Court ruling approved his third term, allowing him to circumvent two-term presidential limits following a 2016 legal reform. .
But Bedie and opposition leaders say a third term is unconstitutional.
They accuse the electoral commission and the Constitutional Court of favoring the government, making a fair and transparent vote impossible.
The United Nations has called for calm, but the opposition called for a civil disobedience campaign to halt the vote, stoking fears of more violence in opposition strongholds.
More than 35,000 police and security personnel have been mobilized to secure the elections.
The run-up to the polls saw sporadic clashes in the south of the country, mainly between local ethnic groups close to the opposition and northern Diaolu communities, who are seen as loyal to the president.
The country’s political disputes are often closely related to the ethnic identities and regional loyalties of its leader.
On Friday, police fired tear gas in the political capital of Yamoussoukro to break up clashes between young Diaolu and opposition-aligned Baoule communities, according to residents.
According to the constitution, the electoral commission has five days to announce the results.
President Ouattara says a Constitutional Court ruling approved his third term [Legnan Koula/EPA]
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