The first chapter in Ivory Coast's upcoming landmark presidential vote was set to open Wednesday with the official announcement of who will run against incumbent Alassane Ouattara, the favourite to win.
The Constitutional Court on Wednesday releases its list of candidates for the October 25 poll, de facto kicking off an election campaign that officially begins October 11.
The ballot is viewed as crucial to return the country to stability. The last presidential vote, in 2010, triggered deadly violence following a 10-year political and military crisis.
The conflict left thousands dead and shattered the once thriving economy of the world's top cocoa-bean producer, a West African nation once dubbed France's star former colony on the continent.
Ouattara, 73, will seek a second term on the strength of the nation's economic comeback after the damaging conflict five years ago triggered by ex-president Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to step down and acknowledge Ouattara's victory at the polls.
Days after the October vote, Gbagbo on November 10 will be hauled into the dock of the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity for his role in the five months of 2010-2011 post-election violence that left more than 3,000 people dead.
A total of 33 Ivorians have applied to run for the country's top job including the head of Gbagbo's party, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), Pascal Affi N'Guessan.
The final electoral list, including over 300,000 new electors, will include around 6.2 million voters.
Ouattara has promised that if he gains a fresh mandate in October he will not seek a third term.