Four opposition candidates are competing on Saturday in an attempt to create a surprise and take the favorite, the incumbent president, Alassane Ouattara, to the second round.

All of them have been campaigning across the country for the past two weeks, sometimes bringing together thousands of activists.

Here is the cast of the presidential election, with the two main opponents, Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, notably absent.

- Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, 76, former First Lady -

At 76, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo has her revenge: pardoned in 2018, after seven years in prison for acts linked to the bloody crisis of 2010-2011, she has patiently rebuilt her life, after a civil and political divorce from her ex-husband.

Her speech has not changed much; the one who was called the Iron Lady has officially put away her barbs against France but still defends an anti-imperialist policy.

Its program focuses on three themes: reconciliation, transformation of raw materials and diplomatic sovereignty.

Her relations with the Sahelian juntas that have broken with the West? "We pray that they succeed," she says, without, however, completely turning her back on Ivory Coast's current partners and wanting to avoid "living in autarky."

During her "hand-to-hand" campaign in villages across the country, she was able to count on the active support of Charles Blé Goudé, former leader of the pro-Gbagbo "Young Patriots" who remained loyal to her.

- Jean-Louis Billon, 60 years old, the business leader -

He is said to be the richest man in the country. He is at least its largest private employer, with his agro-industrial group Sifca.

His presidential ambition is not new: this mixed-race man with a French father and Ivorian mother has been open about it since 2021, which earned him a slap on the wrist from the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI), the main opposition party.

When Tidjane Thiam took control of the PDCI at the end of 2023, Billon continued on his way and launched into the campaign without the party's approval.

With Thiam now out of the race, he hopes to win back the votes of PDCI activists, even though the party hasn't called for support. "Boycotting the election is a passport for the incumbent," warns a close associate.

A self-proclaimed liberal, the MP for Dabakala (north), who was Ouattara's Minister of Commerce (2011-2018), wants to rely on private-sector-led growth and a structuring of the informal sector for more salaried employment.

- Ahoua Don Mello, 67, the communist close to Russia -

He launched his candidacy as a "precautionary" one, in case his mentor Laurent Gbagbo was prevented from running.

Mr. Gbagbo's African People's Party - Côte d'Ivoire (PPA-CI) did not support him. But the civil engineer remained in the race as an independent.

Recognizable by his impeccable Mao collar suit, Ahoua Don Mello advocates a sovereignist and communist policy.

Its program revolves around three overlapping pillars: decentralization of the Ivorian economy, sovereignty at all levels and "pan-Africanism" favorable to the Sahelian juntas.

He advocates for opening up rural Côte d'Ivoire a little more, but also for processing more raw materials locally, starting with cocoa, of which Côte d'Ivoire is the world's leading producer.

An activist for the exit from the CFA franc and a fervent critic of the current government's indebtedness, the Secretary General of the BRICS Alliance makes no secret of his sympathy for Russia at the diplomatic level.

It remains to be seen who will best capture the votes of the Ivorian left, between Simone Ehivet Gbagbo and him.

- Henriette Lagou, 66 years old, the moderate centrist -

Already a candidate in 2015, this short-lived Minister of the Family in the 2000s won 0.89% of the vote.

She created a surprise by gathering the necessary sponsorships to see her candidacy validated, for the colors of GP-Paix, a grouping of a dozen small parties.

The credo of the self-described "moderate" opponent: peace and social justice. She hopes to launch a major national dialogue for reconciliation and increase the number of health centers and schools in the country.

"You can build factories all you want, but if there is no peace, there is no development," people around her say, comparing her to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was the first woman elected president of neighboring Liberia.