Alassane Ouattara Reelected President of Ivory Coast

Alassane Ouattara has been reelected as Ivory Coast's president, securing nearly 84 percent of the vote, the country’s electoral commission said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The 73-year-old incumbent leader won his second five-year term in Sunday's ballot.

Despite calls to boycott the presidential elections from some opposition candidates, the turnout in the West African state was almost 55 percent, the president of the Independent Electoral Commission announced on state television.

Ouattara’s victory is expected to encourage a fragile peace in the country after years of political turmoil.

The last presidential election in 2010 was contested and resulted in a civil war in which 3,000 people lost their lives.

A full-scale military conflict broke out in Ivory Coast in March 2011 between forces loyal to Ouattara, who won the 2010 vote, and then-President Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to step down.

Gbagbo was arrested the following April and is due to stand trial in November at the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity over his role in the post-election violence. He denies the charges.