I. Coast Constitutional Council Confirms Ouattara's Re-Election

Ivory Coast's Constitutional Council on Monday confirmed the re-election of President Alassane Ouattara for five years in an official proclamation eight days after the vote.

"It is fitting to proclaim him elected" as president of the Republic of Ivory Coast, said Mamadou Kone, president of the council.

Kone earlier said that Ouattara had won 2,618,229 million votes out of a total 3,129,742 ballots cast in the west African country, giving him a score of 83.66 percent.

The council upheld the results issued by the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), which put the turnout at 52.86 percent of 6,301,189 registered voters.

Ouattara, 73, an economist whose first election victory in 2010 triggered several months of violence and bloodshed, solidly beat main opposition candidate Pascal Affi N'Guessan, who took 9.29 percent of the votes.

Affi N'Guessan represented the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) founded by former president Laurent Gbagbo, who is behind bars at the International Criminal Court in The Hague facing trial in relation to the 2010-2011 post-election violence.

Some of his supporters had called for a boycott of the election to show their solidarity with Gbagbo.

Violence broke out at the last election, claiming 3,000 lives, after the electoral commission declared Ouattara the victor while the Constitutional Council said Gbagbo was the winner. The international community backed Ouattara, who took power in April 2011 after Gbagbo was arrested by force.

In sharp contrast with the violence, observers described the latest poll as generally smooth and peaceful.