The presidential election in Ivory Coast is set to go into a second round after neither of the two top candidates reached 50% of the vote.

With all the ballots counted from Sunday's first round, incumbent Laurent Gbagbo won 38% and opposition leader Alassane Ouattara 32%, the election commission said. The run-off is expected on 28 November.

The poll is intended to fully reunify the country, after years of rebel control in the north.

The election, due since 2005, had been postponed six times and turnout was around 80% - one observer said this was one of the highest rates ever seen in Africa. Some feared violence could break out after the announcement of the final results but so far, everything has been quiet in the world's biggest producer of cocoa - the raw ingredient for chocolate. However, the party of former President Henri Konan Bedie, who came third with 25%, has said the polls were rigged and demanded a recount.

International observers said the polls were credible, despite some organisational short-comings. The results have now been submitted to the constitutional court for its approval and the United Nations, which has some 8,500 peacekeepers in the country, will also need to certify the results.