Ivory Coast election day for President Laurent Gbagbo ?

Post date: Oct 31, 2010 9:13:01 AM

President

Laurent Gbagbo

A tense Ivory Coast votes for a president Sunday

in a long-postponed election that it is aimed at ending a decade of political turmoil and war in the divided former West African powerhouse. Voters from the 5.7 million people eligible to cast their ballots in the world's top

$ 425 million record election costs

200 billion CFA francs (304 million euros) spent

on the election. The figure is expected to rise,

making it the most expensive election in Africa

The EU has sent 120 election observers

Currency explainer:

$1 = 473 CFA ( 100 CFA = $ 0.21 )

€1 = 662 CFA

The West African CFA (XOF) is the currency

BENIN-BURKINA FASO-IVORY COAST-GUINEA BISSAU

cocoa-producing country will choose between 14 candidates, among whom incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, 65, is one of the strongest. Gbagbo came to power in a 2000 election from which Bedie and Ouattara were excluded.

Rival candidates:

      • Ex-president Henri Konan Bedie, 76

MALI NIGER SENENGAL TOGO

in Benin (BJ, BEN), Burkina Faso (BF, BFA), Ivory Coast (Cote D'Ivoire, CI, CIV), Guinea-Bissau (GW, GNB), Mali (ML, MLI), Niger (NE, NER), Senegal (SN, SEN), and Togo (TG, TGO).

The West African CFA is also known as Communaute Financiere Africaine BCEAO Franc. The symbol for XOF can be written CFAF. The West African CFA is divided into 100 centimes. The exchange rate for the West African CFA was last updated on October 29, 2010 from The International Monetary Fund.

    • Banknotes avialable:

    • 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 francs

      • Former PM Alassane Ouattara, 68

The conflict also tore the country in two: Gbagbo's government-controlled south and the north held by former New Forces rebels, with UN and French peacekeepers patrolling the buffer zone between

source: france24.com/en

    • West African CFA Franc (XOF) Banknotes

[ 1000 CFA Franc note = $2 ]

The Central African CFA Franc - XAF

1 CFA = 1 CFA Franc (FCFA) ( Cameroon )

    • Central African CFA Franc (XAF) is the official currency of Cameroon.

    • This currency is currently used by 6 independent countries in central Africa, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon

    • This currency is pigged with: EUR

    • Symbol: FCFA

    • Banknotes avialable:

    • 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 francs

    • Central African CFA Franc (XAF) Banknotes

[ 1000 CFA note = $2 ]