Ivory Coast Presidential Campaign To Kick Off Friday

The upcoming Ivory Coast presidential election campaign will start on Friday, the country's official election board announced Thursday.



The announcement by the Ivory Coast Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) came the day after an agreement was signed by four opposition presidential candidates for transparent elections.



On Wednesday, the four candidates, including the ruling president Alassane Ouattara, signed the agreement for a fair campaign at the Presidential Palace in Abidjan.



However, five other candidates to the presidency denounced the agreement saying the upcoming election would not be fair since conditions for transparency have not been met. 



The West African country is now slated to hold a presidential election with nine candidates on Oct. 25 in which Ouattara is widely expected to clinch a second term.



The poll will be the country's first presidential election since post-electoral violence in 2010 resulted in the death of some 3,000 people, according to UN figures.



Since late 2011, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been holding former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo due to his alleged role in the violence.



Some 6.3 million people are expected to go polls out of a population of 23 million and at least 34,000 soldiers, including 6,000 UN peacekeepers will be tasked to ensure security.



Last September, clashes occurred between opponents and supporters of Ouattara in the western part of the country, leaving two dead. - Fildişi Sahili Cumhuriyeti