Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara on Monday invited his chief rival Henri Konan Bedie for talks to defuse a standoff over his contested election to a third term. Ouattara won the October 31 vote by a landslide, but Ivory Coast is caught in a crisis after opposition leaders boycotted the ballot and vowed to set up a rival government. Ouattara invited Bedie for a "meeting in the next few days for a frank and sincere dialogue to help to restore confidence" and urged opposition leaders to end their protests. His announcement came after at least nine people were killed in clashes in the centre of country as the top Ivorian court formally validated the election results and Ouattara's third term. Opposition chiefs had called for a campaign of civil disobedience over the vote because they said Ouattara was violating the two-term presidential limits. He says a 2016 reform allowed him to run again. Bedie's home in Abidjan has been blockaded by security forces and two other leaders have been arrested in an investigation into insurrection after their election protest. More than 50 people have been killed in violence over the ballot since August, reviving fears over a repeat of a post-election crisis a decade ago that left 3,000 people dead. pma/ach