Burkina Faso president votes in election

Incumbent Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré on Sunday cast his vote in the country's presidential election.Kabore, of the People's Movement for Progress party, has promised to secure the country and is vying for another five years against 12 other candidates.The incumbent is expected to win but the opposition hopes to split the vote, depriving him of the 51% support needed for an outright victory in the first round.

The election is a major test for the nation's young democracy in the face of ongoing extremist violence.A failure to hold a peaceful, transparent election in this African nation of 21 million people could give extremist groups who accuse the government of being ineffective a boost, experts say.Violence has cut off large swaths of the country, leaving people unable to register or cast ballots. A change in Burkina Faso's electoral code this year means that election results will be valid even if people can't vote in parts of the country. Civilians in hard-hit areas say they're already being threatened not to vote by jihadis.

Dozens of people lined up at polling stations in the capital, Ouagadougou, before sunrise Sunday.On Saturday, opposition candidates accused the ruling party of fraud, including bribing people.The parties also accused the National Independent Electoral Commission of making changes to the electoral map, Zephirin Diabre, a leading candidate from the Progress and Change Party, told a press conference.

(Images Credit: AP) 

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