Polls have opened in Ivory Coast where the country is voting to elect its next leader.

Longtime President Alassane Ouattara is seeking a fourth term that would extend his rule to almost two decades.

The election is the latest example of aging men continuing to hold power in Africa, the continent which boasts the youngest population in the world. Cameroon's Paul Biya, 92, Uganda's Yoweri Museveni, 81, and Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Mbasogo, 83, are some other older African leaders still in power.

Five candidates are jostling for Ivory Coast’s top job, but many see the election as going one way, with Ouattara, the 83-year-old leader of the world’s biggest producer of cocoa, retaining his seat. Ouattara’s party, the Rally of Houphouetistes for Democracy and Peace, or RHDP, also holds a majority of seats in parliament with 169 out of 255 seats.

Ouattara has overseen Ivory Coast’s economic reconstruction since the civil war, achieving an annual growth rate of 6 percent backed by a boom in cocoa. However, more than a third of the country’s 30 million people still live in poverty, and jobs are scarce for young people.

Ouattara is being challenged by four other candidates, including Simone Gbagbo, a former first lady, and Jean-Loius Billion, a former commerce minister under Ouattara. They have all promised jobs and new agricultural policies. Analysts say they do not have a real chance at unseating Ouattara.

At his final rally in Abidjan on Thursday, Ouattara told his supporters, “The growth has been huge, but we need to continue.”

A former deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund, Ouatarra’s investment in the public sector and infrastructure has endeared him to his supporters.