* Ivory Coast holds run-off aimed at ending years of crisis
* Close and tense vote expected
By Tim Cocks
ABIDJAN, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast holds a presidential run-off on Sunday with fears of violence after a tight race hanging over hopes that the vote will draw a line under a decade of political crisis and economic stagnation.
Incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, a former history professor, faces Alassane Ouattara, a former prime minister and senior IMF official, in a race that is too close to call and has rekindled simmering tensions in the top cocoa grower.
Gbagbo and Ouattara won 38 and 32 percent of the first round vote respectively, and the race to secure the presidency has brought back to the fore a north-south divide that was at the heart of a 2002-3 war.
"The stakes are very high. The first round was very good. (But) we have seen some radicalisation," said Gilles Yabi, an independent political analyst.
After talks on Saturday with Blaise Compaore, Burkina Faso's president and the mediator in the Ivorian crisis, both candidates reiterated a vow to accept the results.
But supporters on both sides have a history of taking to the streets for their demands so fears of clashes are real. "I'm afraid we can expect some degree of violence," Yabi said.
At least three people were shot dead by police in the main city of Abidjan on Saturday, a local official said.
Earlier in the week, Gbagbo said he would impose an overnight curfew. His army chief said on Saturday it would run until Wednesday to help stop any further loss of life from clashes that have killed at least seven people in all.
VOTE-RIGGING FEAR
But opposition parties and rebel forces still controlling the north of the country have rejected the curfew, which Gbagbo's rivals fear will be used to rig the vote.
During talks late on Saturday the election commission also expressed its concern, calling on Gbagbo to ease security measures as they risked having an impact on voting.
Compaore said there had been talks to soften the measures but gave no further details.
A successful poll should pave the way for reforms to help an ailing cocoa sector and lead to further investment in a nation that was once West Africa's brightest prospect but whose economy has been weighed down by years of political uncertainty.
Violence following the poll would affect the delivery of cocoa to the country's two main ports.
Ouattara has secured the support of Hennri Konan Bedie, who came third in the first round with 25 percent.
But doubts remain over whether enough of Bedie's predominantly southern supporters are ready to throw their weight behind Ouattara, who is from the north and has been accused of backing the rebellion.
Voting will also be closely watched by holders of Ivory Coast's ${esc.dollar}2.3 billion Eurobond <CI049648839=RRPS>, which traded below 10 percent for the first time following the peaceful first round but has crept back up to around 10.3 percent. (Additional reporting by Alain Amontchi; additional reporting and writing by David Lewis)
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