Ivorians turned out in low numbers for local elections Sunday seen as a test for stability in the west African nation amid high tensions in the face of a boycott by former president Laurent Gbagbo's party.
The UN has appealed for calm after skirmishes during the election campaign, voicing hope that the vote would help put the country on the path to "genuine democracy". Voting was delayed at many polling stations in the main city of Abidjan and other urban centres because of the late arrival of materials or staff, and several sources said turnout appeared to be low although the situation was calm.
They are the first such polls in more than a decade in the world's top cocoa producer and are seen as a trial run for the 2015 presidential election.
Ivory Coast is still recovering from years of unrest which came to a head when Gbagbo refused to admit defeat in the 2010 presidential vote. Around 3,000 people died in the ensuing conflict and Gbagbo is now facing trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
President Alassane Ouattara's government is hoping Sunday's municipal and regional polls will set the foundations for a fresh political start. Ouattara said as he cast his vote that he hoped Ivorians could "vote in peace", describing the elections as "important for the decentralised running of the country". However, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), which backed Gbagbo during his 10-year rule from 2000 to 2010 and after his arrest in April 2011, has dismissed the polls as a sham.
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