11 December 2011 Last updated at 10:45 GMT
Security in the commercial capital, Abidjan, has been stepped upThe people of Ivory Coast are voting in their first parliamentary poll since a presidential election a year ago sparked months of violence.
The party of Laurent Gbagbo, whose refusal to step down last year set off the bloodshed, is boycotting the poll. It complains of intimidation and bias.
UN troops are on patrol in the Ivorian commercial capital, Abidjan.
Mr Gbagbo is awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity.
Mr Gbagbo’s party, the Ivorian Popular Front party, has accused the electoral commission of bias in favour of the current president, Alassane Ouattara and will falsify the results.
They also accuses the army of intimidating supporters during the campaign.
Fears of violence
Hundreds of his supporters protested against his detention outside the ICC in The Hague on Saturday, some wearing T-shirts with the slogan “No Gbagbo, No Peace”.
Thousands of people were killed in the months that followed presidential polls last December after Mr Gbagbo refused to hand over power, claiming he had won.
Observers are concerned that Sunday’s vote, in which 950 candidates are vying for 255 posts, could trigger fresh violence.
The BBC’s John James, in Abidjan, says many voters have found it hard to get excited about the poll, regardless of their political views, because of the limited powers given to the national assembly.
Nevertheless, for the new government, a peaceful and well-run poll would help show investors that Ivory Coast is back up and running, our correspondent says.
On Wednesday, three people were killed in a rocket-launcher attack, according to Ivorian Defence Minister Paul Koffi Koffi.
Mr Gbagbo, who was flown to The Hague last month, faces four charges of crimes against humanity.
He is accused of being an “indirect co-perpetrator” of murder, rape, persecution and other inhuman acts.
Human rights groups welcomed the arrest warrant, but said that, while Mr Gbagbo’s forces had triggered the violence, both sides had been implicated in grave crimes.
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