ABIDJAN: Ivory Coast elects a new parliament on Sunday in a poll boycotted by the party of former strongman Laurent Gbagbo, who is awaiting trial in The Hague for crimes against humanity.
With Gbagbo sitting in an International Criminal Court (ICC) cell, the coalition backing President Alassane Ouattara is widely expected to gain a majority of the 255 seats in the new assembly.
The vote comes only a year after the poll that brought the West African country to the brink of civil war in a conflict that claimed some 3,000 lives. And it follows a week of campaigning that left five people dead.
Some 25,000 members of the Ivorian security forces, backed by 7,000 members of the UN peacekeeping mission, will be deployed to ensure security during the election in this country of 21 million people.
"Acts of violence, intimidation or obstruction cannot be tolerated," Bert Koenders, the head of the UN mission, said.
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