Ivory Coast leader's party headed for control of assembly

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara's party was headed for full parliamentary control Wednesday, media reports said, as former strongman Laurent Gbagbo awaits trial in The Hague.

Public television reported that Ouattara's Rally of Republicans (RDR) had so far won 123 out of 225 seats up for grabs in Sunday elections and that its main ally the Ivory Coast Democratic Party (PDCI) had captured 93.

Independents had garnered 12 seats, the media reports said, as many newspapers hailed the RDR as "the big winner" and "new master".

The Ivorian Popular Front, the party of Gbagbo -- who is on trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) -- boycotted the country's first parliamentary election since 2000.

In presidential elections in November last year, Gbagbo refused to accept defeat, triggering fighting that left about 3,000 people dead in a country that was once a beacon of stability in western Africa.

Gbagbo, who had held on to his job five years after his initial mandate expired in 2005, was captured in his presidential palace by pro-Ouattara forces in April, with support from French and UN troops.

He is the first former head of state to be brought before the ICC.

Ouattara, 69, took office six months after the November 2010 polls.

Ivory Coast has been plagued by a decade of political and military crisis and the election campaign was marred by five deaths, but the legislative poll itself took place without serious incident.

West African regional bloc ECOWAS said Tuesday the elections had been free and fair despite a low turnout, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has hailed a "peaceful and orderly" vote.