Voting begins in Burkina Faso general election

Polls opened in Burkina Faso on Sunday in the first free election in three decades as the country chooses a replacement for President Blaise Compaore, who was overthrown a year ago in an uprising backed by the army.

The election represents a turning point for the West African nation which, for most of its history since independence from France in 1960, has been ruled by leaders who came to power in coups.

He said that the country was ready for the general election this Sunday, which includes the presidential election, and tightened security measures have been put in place. Nearly 5.5 million voters are registered to vote.

Hundreds of thousands of citizens took to the streets in October 2014, furious over then-President Blaise Compaore’s bid to scrap constitutional term limits and stay in office.

Despite initiatives to make the country a functional democracy, ex-president Compaore’s party could nonetheless have a strong showing in the legislative election. Fourteen candidates are taking part in the race for the presidency.

The authorities are deploying between 20,000 and 25,000 troops to ward off the threat of a jihadist attack, following two recent assaults against police barracks on the country’s long western border with troubled Mali.

His main rival, Zephirin Diabre, 56, was the country’s minister of finance during the 1990s before he stepped down to start an opposition party.

A candidate needs more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off, which would be held 15 days after first-round results are finalised. Mr Diabre has global ties from his years at the United Nations Development Programme and at Areva, a French nuclear company. Kabore worked side-by-side with Compaore for 26 years – serving as premier, parliament speaker and CDP party chief – before falling out of favour and quitting the ruling party months before the collapse of the regime.

Results are expected by Monday evening.

There are 14 presidential candidates, but Reuters quoted analysts saying only two stand a real chance of being elected.

There were reports of minor problems at some of the voting stations, including shortages of voting papers and ballot boxes.

Mr Compaore, 64, is now living in exile in neighbouring Ivory Coast.