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Burkina Faso

Compaoré expected to win in low-turnout presidential poll

Burkina Faso voted in the first round of presidential elections on Sunday. President Blaise Compaoré is widely expected to win.

AFP/Ahmed Ouoba
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Compaoré has ruled the country for more than 20 years, after coming to power in the country's fifth military coup since independence. Although he has allowed multiparty politics, he faces little opposition.

Compaoré appealed to the 3.2 million registered voters to cast their ballots earlier today, amid signs of a weak turnout.

The opposition, which boycotted the counrty's first two democratic polls, remains weak, divided and lacks a strong, charismatic leader.

Six opposition candidates are running, but none of them have the financial means to match the Compaoré campaign.

The most serious challenger is lawyer Benewende Stanislas Sankara, who finished in second place in 2005, with nearly five per cent of the vote compared to over 80 per cent polled by the president.

Observers who toured the capital Ouagadougou this morning noted only a trickle of early voters and said a number of opposition parties had even failed to place representatives at polling stations to monitor the vote.

If reelected, Compaoré has pledged to carry out reforms, including the creation of a Senate in addition to the National Assembly.

But his party has taken it upon itself one highly contentious task.

The Congress for Democracy and Progress wants to abolish the limit on the number of times the president can run for office, paving the way for Compaoré to stand again in 2015.

The electoral commission has said it expects to declare provisional results by Thursday at the latest.
 

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