France, Oct. 10 -- Campaigning in Cote d'Ivoire's presidential election kicked off on Friday. The five candidates approved by the Constitutional Council have two weeks to win over voters ahead of the 25 October polls. RFI's correspondentBineta Diagne is following the campaign trail.

Alassane Ouattara, in power since 2011, is facing off against four candidates: former ministers Jean-Louis Billon, Ahoua Don Mello and Henriette Lagou, and former first lady Simone Ehivet Gbagbo.

Billon, a dissident from Tidjane Thiam's Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI), is launching his campaign with a parade in the Abidjan district of Koumassi. He will then hold a rally in Marcory, another district of the economic capital, led by Mayor Aby Raoul of ...