A man died Tuesday while helping law enforcement dismantle barricades near the Ivorian political capital of Yamoussoukro, which has been hit by occasional opposition blockades three days before the presidential election, the public prosecutor announced.

The political climate is tense in Côte d'Ivoire: the opposition is denouncing the exclusion of its two main candidates, Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, as well as President Alassane Ouattara's bid for a fourth term.

They are calling for demonstrations that the authorities have banned, arguing that they risk disturbing public order.

A total of four people have died since mid-October on the sidelines of demonstrations or blockades, including a police officer.

On Tuesday morning, a man who came to help police officers dismantle barricades erected by individuals on the public highway in the village of Kami, near Yamoussoukro, was "hit in the head with a stone," said the Public Prosecutor at the Toumodi Court of First Instance.

The 46-year-old man "died of his injuries (...) a head injury caused by a blunt object," he added in a statement, specifying that an investigation had been opened.

Protests have been observed sporadically for several days in certain localities of the country, notably in the south and west, but also in the center in Yamoussoukro, areas where the opposition was historically strong.

On Monday, a building of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) was set on fire in the capital.

Earlier this week, a gendarme was killed by "gunfire" in the south of the country, while a protester died after a chase in the center-west.

Last week, another person was shot dead during a demonstration in Bonoua (south) by unidentified individuals, according to the police.

More than 700 people have been arrested in the country, some for acts that amount to "acts of terrorism," according to prosecutor Oumar Braman Koné.

At least sixty people have been sentenced to three years in prison for "disturbing public order" after taking part in banned demonstrations.

If Messrs. Gbagbo and Thiam are excluded from the election by the courts, four candidates will challenge President Ouattara in the first round on Saturday.

These are the former Minister of Commerce Jean-Louis Billon, a dissident from the PDCI; two former companions of Laurent Gbagbo who broke with him, his ex-wife Simone Ehivet Gbagbo and the former minister Ahoua Don Mello; and finally Henriette Lagou, already a candidate in 2015.