The Ivory Coast heads to the polls on Saturday. Five candidates – among them President Alassane Ouattara – are competing for the top job, while several key rivals have been excluded from the race. 

Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara has stunned his critics by announcing that he will not run for a third term, putting pressure on other regional leaders to follow his example, writes the BBC Newsday's James Copnall from the main city, Abidjan.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said on Thursday he would not stand for re-election in October, ending speculation about his political future ahead of a highly-anticipated vote.