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ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) - Ivory Coast announced Thursday that long-awaited presidential elections will be held Oct. 30, while the top opposition leader said a government decision allowing him to be a candidate was a crucial step toward democracy.
Alassane Ouattara, a former prime minister barred from presidential elections in 2000, offered reserved praise President Laurent Gbagbo, his political rival.
The ban on Ouattara's candidacy helped spark a crisis that led to a civil war in 2002 that left this West African nation divided between rebels and the government.
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