I. Coast votes for new president in key stability test

Abidjan (AFP) - Ivory Coast voted Sunday in a presidential election seen as a key test of stability after years of violence and upheaval in the west African country.

More than six million people are eligible to cast ballots but many may be deterred fearing a repeat of the violence unleashed by the last election in 2010, a conflict that claimed some 3,000 lives.

"We'll be far, very far from the 80 percent participation at the election in 2010," one observer warned.

But incumbent President Alassane Ouattara, who is tipped to win re-election over six challengers, disagreed.

"The enthusiasm we see across the country makes us think the turnout will be very good," he said as he cast his ballot in the economic capital Abidjan.

Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, needs a peaceful and credible election to recover its former status as a beacon of stability in the region, and some 34,000 soldiers including 6,000 UN peacekeepers were on patrol during the polling.

"I want a lasting peace and work for my children," said Bintou Coulibaly, a trader casting her ballot in Abidjan.

But opposition figures have already cried foul, with three candidates having withdrawn from the race, leaving Ouattara vying against six others.

The crisis following the 2010 elections, which pitted Ouattara against former strongman Laurent Gbagbo, was a bloody epilogue to a decade of upheaval that split the country between a rebel-held north and a loyalist south.

- 'Knock-out blow' -

A prominent economist and former deputy head of the International Monetary Fund, Ouattara hopes for a solid first-round win -- the "knock-out blow" he promised on the stump -- that will allow him to avoid a run-off against a sole opponent.

Ouattara, 73, has campaigned on turning around Ivory Coast's economy and assuring stability after years of turmoil in the former French colony.

"It's a big day for Ivory Coast," he said Sunday. "We must endeavour to conduct these elections in peace and serenity, and come together more in order to face the other challenges awaiting the Ivorian nation."

Weeks of violence followed the 2010 election, when then president Gbagbo refused to concede defeat to Ouattara, the declared winner.

Ouattara was finally inaugurated president in 2011, and Gbagbo was eventually ousted by French-backed, pro-Ouattara forces.

Gbagbo is now in a Dutch jail awaiting trial next month for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Hague -- while rights campaigners have said little justice has been meted out to members of Ouattara's camp over the 2010-11 violence.

- Vote-rigging claims -

Ouattara's main challenger is former prime minister Pascal Affi N'Guessan, who is running on behalf of Gbagbo's party, the Ivorian Popular Front.

Former prime minister Charles Konan Banny dropped out of the running on Friday citing "serious irregularities" in the organisation of the vote.

Former foreign minister Amara Essy had withdrawn earlier, along with former national assembly speaker Mamadou Koulibaly, who condemned the vote as "rigged".

The government shrugged off their boycott as a bid to duck out of a contest they were tipped to lose.

But Ouattara has come under criticism from Amnesty International for the detention of opponents ahead of the vote.

In Yopougon, the working-class pro-Gbagbo district of Abidjan known for its buzzing nightlife, the mood was gloomy on Saturday, with many residents still seeing Gbagbo as the rightful winner of the 2010 vote.

"For us, October 25 is a day of mourning in Yopougon," said hairdresser Daniel as he sat outside his salon, adding that he would not be voting on Sunday.

"Going to vote would be like violating the constitution myself," he said.

"Tell me who to vote for while my parents are languishing in Ouattara's prisons," said a woman who gave her family name as Yaba, standing amongst steaming pots at her restaurant.

But in the staunchly pro-Ouattara neighbourhood of Adobo, the mood was upbeat amongst voters cheering on their champion, known as "Ado" after his initials.

"Ado will build roads, he's going to bring work for young people," said 19-year-old Ousmane, who lost his mother in the violence sparked by the last election.

Polling officially ends at 1700 GMT, and preliminary results are expected early in the week.