Apathy and unease ahead of Ivory Coast’s polls after protests in Abidjan

Ahead of Ivory Coast’s Saturday election, there is an air of apathy in Abidjan’s Blockhauss neighborhood, where hundreds of protesters were arrested and several wounded during protests earlier this month.

Security forces launched tear gas at demonstrators during the protest, which authorities claimed was illegal as they had banned political marches days earlier.

Elections in Ivory Coast have often been fraught with tension and…