An agent at the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) counts ballots on December 11, 2011 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. By Sia Kambou (AFP/ File)
ABIDJAN (AFP) – Ivorians began voting Sunday in local elections seen as a trial run for a presidential poll in 2015 amid high tensions as the party of former president Laurent Gbagbo boycotted the poll.
Voting began at a polling station in Abidjan’s working-class Koumassi district about half an hour after the official 7:00 am (0700 GMT) starting time, while others were still not open in the west African country’s main city.
Ivory Coast is still recovering from years of unrest which came to a head when Gbagbo refused to admit defeat in the 2010 presidential election.