Around 2.2 million eligible voters lined up in front of various polling stations in Togo on Sunday, casting their ballots to choose a new president for the west African country which was plunged into political uncertainty after the death of the 38-year ruler, Eyadema Gnassingbe.

Many people came ahead of 6:30 a.m. (0630 GMT), when the polling centers are officially ruled to open. They waited in long queues for the voting to start.

The presidential race will be mainly between the opposition candidate Emmanuel Bob Akitani and Faure Gnassingbe, son of Eyadema whom the military violated the constitution to install as Togo's leader and stepped aside under intense pressure at home and broad.

Akitani came to vote at 10:30 a.m. (1030 GMT). People cheered to give him a warm welcome. He said 90 percent of the population "wants a change, to end the nearly four decades of rule by the Togolese People's Rally party."

"The six opposition coalition party will certainly win this presidential poll," said Akitani, the sole candidate representing the six biggest opposition parties. He is also the vice president of the main opposition Union of Forces for Change party.

He made an experiment after casting his ballot to prove that the ink to prevent voters from repeated voting are delible, saying this has made room for cheating.

"Let's witness this fact together," said Akitani, "anyway, this will not obstruct Togolese. Let us work together to defend the victory of Togolese people."

In the polling station where Akitani voted, a working staff told reporters that in the first two hours after the vote started, over 150 people have cast their ballots in one polling booth, which has some 800 registered voters.

"They're active," said Touh Maleki, who is sent by Togo's independent electoral committee to monitor the whole voting process in this center, noting nothing wrong has happened up to now.

Running as ruling party's candidate, Faure Gnassingbe cast his ballot at a school in downtown Lome earlier at around 7:30 a.m. (0730 GMT), telling reporters afterwards, "This is a big step. The fact that we held elections is the first victory for us."

He called on the Togolese people to make their best choice in the polls, and expressed confidence of a peaceful election, saying "there will not be violence. I know the Togolese people, they are not violent."

The long queues snaking outside the voting centers, are quite, a contrast to the streets in the capital Lome, where quietness dominates and one can see few people and few cars passing by.

However, during the two-week long campaign, clashes between government and opposition supporters were frequently seen on the streets. The opposition has claimed the government rigged voter registration and requested a postponement of the polls.

Sunday's elections follow the February 5 death of longtime ruler Gnassingbe Eyadema. The military initially installed his son, Faure Gnassingbe, who called the election and resigned within weeks in the face of international pressure and protests at home.

Togo's interim President Abass Bonfoh has made a televised speech later Saturday appealing for calm and urging political parties to respect "the verdict of the ballot box."

"The presidential election, scheduled for Sunday, is not an ordinary one," Bonfoh said, noting it is held under the emergent circumstance following the decease of 38-year ruler Gnassingbe Eyadema, to avoid a power vacuum in the west African country.

"Once again, I invite every one of us to show moderation so that the vote and the count can take place in the greatest transparency," he called.

The polling centers will close at 5:00 p.m. (1700 GMT), after which ballots will be counted immediately, and sent to the independent electoral commission.

It is not known when the final results will come out, but it will be announced by the Constitutional Court of Togo after it verifies the outcome.

Togo lies in west Africa, forming a narrow strip stretching north from a coastline on the Gulf of Guinea. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east, Burkina Faso to the north.

The Togolese government on Friday ordered to intermittently close all land borders to discourage election tampering, but airports remain open.

Source: Xinhua