20111212
Press TV
Ivory Coast Prime Minister Guillaume Soro has called on political parties and their candidates to stop violence after five people died in the run-up to Sunday's parliamentary elections.

Soro, who is also the defense minister, issued an "urgent appeal to all political parties and candidates to put an end to the violence surrounding the election", AFP reported on Thursday.

He added that he had observed some military officials campaigning for certain candidates and warned that they would face punishment.

A rocket attack killed a woman and two boys at Grand Lahou in the south of the country.

Another victim of the violence was a candidate from the country's President Alassane Ouattara's Rally of Republicans party, who had been burned to death. A young villager had also been killed at the weekend, junior defense minister Paul Koffi Koffi announced the two deaths in a televised address.

Ouattara's party is expected to win the polls since former president Laurent Gbagbo's party has boycotted the election.

Gbagbo was extradited to The Hague earlier this month to face charges, including murder and rape committed by his supporters as he attempted to cling to power following the November 2010 presidential elections.

International Criminal Court prosecutors say about 3,000 people died in violence by both sides after Gbagbo refused to concede defeat after last year's polls.