ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- Polls opened in the Ivory Coast on Saturday to elect a new leader as longtime President Alassane Ouattara seeks a fourth term after key contenders were barred from contesting.

Ballot stations opened shortly after 0800 GMT following initial delays. Some 8.7 million people registered to vote. Turnout has only been slightly above 50% in the last two elections.

The election is the latest example of aging men continuing to hold power in Africa, which boasts the youngest population in the world. Cameroon's Paul Biya, 92, Uganda's Yoweri Museveni, 81, and Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Mbasogo, 83, are some other older African leaders still in power.

Five candidates are jostling for Ivory Coast’s top job, but many see Ouattara, the 83-year-old leader of the world’s biggest producer of cocoa, retaining his seat. If he wins, this would extend his rule to almost two decades. Ouattara’s party, the Rally of Houphouetistes for Democracy and Peace, or RHDP, also holds a majority of seats in parliament with 169 out of 255 seats.

Ouattara has overseen the country's economic reconstruction since the civil war, achieving an annual growth rate of 6% backed by a boom in cocoa. However, 37.5% of the country’s 30 million people still live in poverty, and jobs are scarce for young people.

The build-up to the election has been marred by protests against the exclusion of major candidates who could pose a challenge to Ouattara’s ambition. The final list of registered candidates did not include Tidjane Thiam, a former Credit Suisse executive, and Laurent Gbagbo, a former candidate who still retains the support of a large section of the voter base.

Their supporters had taken to the streets, with several hundred people arrested and dozens jailed. This has raised the specter of past electoral crises that killed at least 3,000 people in 2010 and 2011 and almost 100 people in 2020.

The government also restricted the gathering of people except for the five parties contesting the election and deployed more than 40,000 security personnel across the country.

Ouattara has denied a crackdown on opposition.

Ouattara has attracted less scrutiny from the international community and from longtime partner and former colonial ruler France.

“The geopolitical context is favorable to him,” said Séverin Yao Kouamé, a research professor at the country’s University of Bouaké.

Kouamé said the international community and longtime partner and former colonial ruler France currently have other priorities.

Four candidates challenge Ouattara, including Simone Gbagbo, a former first lady, and Jean-Louis Billion, a former commerce minister under Ouattara. They have all promised jobs and new agricultural policies. Analysts have said none of the other four candidates has any strong chance of winning.

At his final rally in Abidjan on Thursday, Ouattara told his supporters: “The growth has been huge, but we need to continue.”

A former deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund, Ouatarra’s investment in the public sector and infrastructure has endeared him to his supporters.

Vote counting will begin immediately after the polls close, with provisional results expected within 48 hours.