Ivory Coast: plea for opposition participation in election

Ivorians will this saturday October 31 go to the polls to elect a new president.

One of the four candidates contesting in the presidential election Kouadio Konan Bertin, aka "KKB", is calling on voters to cast their ballots.

His call comes after opposition parties asked their supporters to boycott the polls. They have called for a boycott accusing the electoral authorities and constitutional council of being biased and unable to guarantee a fair election.

"Deserting the polls is not the solution, I have always said it and I repeat. I ask only one thing of the Ivorians: that they go and vote." Kouadio Konan Bertin , independent candidate for the presidential election told journalists.

"You want to put an end to the government of Alassane Ouattara, it's your legitimate right, but I propose that you do it at the polls, on October 31. Rather than setting up barricades to end up getting shot, rather than going to throw stones at the police and gendarmes and then accusing them of murder, let's go to the polls." Bertin explained.

Dozens of would-be candidates have been barred from running in the election, including former president Laurent Gbagbo and ex-rebel chief Guillaume Soro, who both played key roles in the 2010-11 crisis.

At least 30 people have been killed in clashes in different towns since August when Ouattara announced he would run again.