ABIDJAN, March 26 (AFP) - The opposition Rally of Republicans (RDR) has sealed its return to Ivorian politics with a strong showing in municipal elections, after boycotting presidential and legislative elections last year. The party led by the exiled Alassane Ouattara was in the lead following weekend voting, with turnout at just over 40 percent according to partial results released Monday. International observers said that voting had been conducted in a "democratic and transparent way". With 186 of the country's 197 municipalities reporting, the RDR had secured victory in 62, to 56 for the formerly ruling Ivory Coast Democratic Party (PDCI). The Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) of President Laurent Gbagbo has taken 33 municipalities, while independents secured another 35. The latest figures include results from the major cities but the National Electoral Commission president, Honore Guie, said that complete results would not be known until Tuesday. Foreign donors kept a close vigil on the municipal polls to decide whether to resume aid to the politically troubled nation, frozen since a 1999 coup. Saddled with an external debt of some two billion dollars and a negative growth of two percent, the west African country can ill afford the aid freeze to continue. Ouattara's RDR won several symbolic victories, wresting Bouake, the country's second city, from the PDCI, as well as Gagnoa, formerly held by the FPI in Gbagbo's home region. "We are happy with what has happened. Apart from in the north (the RDR stronghold), we have shown that the RDR is a national party," said Henriette Dagri Diabate, RDR secretary general. "We think that in the end the RDR has proven in the eyes of all Ivorians and the international community that it is one of the main, if not the main, parties in Ivory Coast," she said. FPI national election secretary Sebastien Danon Djedje acknowledged that the results were "not great" for his party, while stressing that the full results were not yet in. "Today we see that (the RDR) is a force to reckon with. The atmosphere should become less strained," he said. The RDR had boycotted presidential and legislative elections last year because Ouattara was barred from standing. The voting on Sunday passed off generally peacefully, in stark contrast to sweeping violence during last year's polls, which claimed more than 190 lives, according to official estimates. However, two people were killed in election-linked violence in the west of the country on Sunday. International observers from the organisation, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), were present in around 100 polling stations. PGA said in a statement: "No serious or intentional irreglarities were observed and proper procedures were followed. "The cooperation between the political parties throughout the polling process could be indicative for the reconciliation process in Ivory Coast." so/gg/loc ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------