Rights a concern ahead of Ivorian vote

GENEVA, Switzerland, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Political marginalization and simmering rivalries in Ivory Coast suggest Sunday's parliamentary elections could lead to renewed violence, an analysis concluded.

Ivorians head to polls Sunday for their first vote since a political stalemate ended in April.

Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down despite recognition by the international community that Alassane Ouattara won a November 2010 presidential contest. The political violence that followed left thousands dead and many more displaced.

Gbagbo appeared Monday before the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands for a preliminary hearing for crimes against humanity committed in Ivory Coast.

Human rights groups accused both sides of committing atrocities and Stratfor, a private intelligence company, said it expects violence after the weekend vote.

"The situation in Ivory Coast is one marked by an immobile economy and a government unwilling to accommodate the party it deposed," Stratfor said in a briefing. "This is a recipe for armed conflict."

Doudou Diene, a U.N. independent expert on human rights in Ivory Coast, arrives in the country Wednesday for a visit to observe the situation during the vote.

He is to meet with Prime Minister Guillaume Soro and members of a truth and reconciliation commission reviewing post election conflict.

Diene is to present his findings to the United Nations in March.