Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has swept to victory for a second term in a key vote aimed at drawing a line at years of violence and the 2011 civil war.
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The 54 per cent turnout was down from the 2010 first-round turnout of about 80 per cent.
The opposition National Coalition for Change expressed further doubts about the turnout, saying many Ivorians stayed home and fewer than 20 percent actually voted.
The results will now be sent to the constitutional court to be validated, Bakayoko said.
It was Gbagbo’s refusal to accept Ouattara’s 2010 poll victory which sparked a conflict that killed 3,000 people. Three opposition candidates withdrew from the election.
Gbagbo is in custody at the worldwide Criminal Court and due to go on trial November 10. A large faction of the party had withheld its support for N’Guessan, calling him a traitor to Gbagbo and predicting the vote would be rigged.
Hardliners disavowed I’Guessan’s candidacy and referred to as for his or her supporters to boycott the polls and turnout was visibly decrease in areas thought-about to be Gbagbo’s conventional strongholds. The CEI dismissed the allegations as unsubstantiated.
Peaceful, transparent elections could help the West African country to turn the page on a 2011 civil war and a decade-long political crisis.
Faced with a partial opposition boycott and concern over voter apathy, turnout can be important to legitimise Ouattara’s second 5-yr mandate if he wins.
Two candidates, Bertin Konan Kouadio and Jacqueline-Claire Kouangoua, conceded defeat on Monday even earlier than official outcomes started to emerge.
The streets of Abidjan were calm with no signs of public celebration after the CEI’s pre-dawn declaration, which was the culmination of a marathon 8-hour announcement of partial results.
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Abel Domahi, a waiter, said he was glad the election was over and pleased that Ouattara had won.
