Togolese Elect New President

Togolese voters went to polling stations on Saturday to elect a new president for the West African country.



Polls opened at 7: 00 GMT and are expected to close at 16: 00 GMT.



"The vote is going on smoothly," Kpondze Komlan, chief of the Tokoin Lycee polling station in capital Lome, told The Anadolu Agency.



He said the turnout "is still at its early stage", declining to give figures.



Koffitse Aziable, an observer with the Vision of African Peoples NGO, said polling stations have opened on time.



Some voters interviewed by AA said they were satisfied with the voting process so far.



"I cast my ballot in just two minutes," Kombate William told AA.



He, however, added that some "voters had difficulties deciding on a candidate."



Another voter from Lome's Be Kpota suburb told AA that he "has come to vote because politicians reached a consensus on making the electoral process successful."



Nearly 3.5 million voters are eligible to cast their ballot in nearly 4,112 polling centers on Saturday.



Five candidates are running for the top spot in Saturday's vote, the frontrunners of whom are incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe and his main rival, Jean-Pierre Fabre, who heads the National Alliance for Change.



Running in the polls are also Gerry Taama, the head of the New Togolese Commitment Party, Tchassona Traore, the candidate of the Citizenship Movement for Democracy and Development and Aime Gogue of the Democratic Alliance for Comprehensive Development.



The Economic Community of West African States has sent 100 observers to oversee Saturday's vote.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Lome