Voting light for Ivory Coast parliament

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - Ivory Coast's second national election in 11 years drew little voter interest Sunday, a stark contrast to last year's massive turnout in a presidential vote that sent the West African nation spiraling into violence.

The parliamentary election, the first the country has had since 2000, saw voters trickling into polling stations in the commercial capital, the scene of months of violence after former strongman Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept his loss in last year's vote.

About 1,100 candidates vied for 255 legislative seats on Sunday.

President Alassane Ouattara said he hoped that more than a third of voters would participate. A spokesman for the top opposition party, which had called for a boycott of the election, estimated that as few as 10 percent of voters participated.

Officials hope Sunday's vote can bring stability and usher in a period of economic growth in this once-flourishing nation, which is a leading cocoa producer. U.N. and local officials reported no major incidents.

But the poll was overshadowed by fallout from last year's vote. Gbagbo awaits trial at The Hague on accusations that his forces committed murder and rape after he rejected his election defeat. His party called for supporters to boycott.

But even in areas supporting Ouattara, turnout was thin. In Abidjan's Abobo neighborhood, an Ouattara stronghold, about 20 voters waited for polls to open Sunday morning. That polling station, like others in the city, opened late.

Electoral commission spokesman Baba Coulibaly said polling stations closed on time. He said they would continue to accept voters who were still in line.

Ouattara voted in Abidjan around midday and called on Ivorians to go to the polls.

The boycott will likely benefit candidates loyal to Ouattara, who took power in April with the help of French and U.N. forces.