President Alassane Ouattara, who is seeking to be re-elected as the Ivory Coast president has cast his ballot as he hopes to be granted a third mandate.

Ouattara and his wife Dominique voted in the up market Abidjan suburb of Cocody on Saturday morning.

The former IMF official has been in power since 2010.

Ouattara, 78, is facing off with veteran opposition leader Henri Konan Bedie, who along with rival Pascal Affi N’Guessan, has called for an election boycott over Ouattara';s plan to run again.

The incumbent president on Saturday called on his opponents to renounce civil disobedience.

"I appeal to those who called for civil disobedience which led to the deaths of men: that they stop... I tell young people not to allow themselves to be manipulated. It is about their future," Ouattara said in a statement.

He was supposed to step down and vowed to hand over power to the next generation but the sudden death of his chosen successor in July forced a change in plan.

Ouattara says he can run again under a new constitution approved in 2016, despite a two-term presidential limit.

Ouattara';s supporters expect a strong win, touting his record in bringing infrastructure projects, economic growth and stability to the world';s top cocoa producer after a decade of instability.

His decision to be re-elected for the third time has led to street clashes that have killed 30 people and revived the memories of the 2010 vote that Ouattara won but unleashed a wave of violence that killed 3,000 people when his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down.