Guinea-Bissau's voters began to cast their ballots on Sunday to choose a new president following the assassination of the long serving leader, Joao Bernardo Vieira,in early March.

A total of 593 782 eligible voters of the West African nation's1.4 million population were registered to vote at the 2,684 polling stations, which were opened at 7:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) and set to close at 5:00 p.m. (1700 GMT).

There are 11 candidates running for the presidency including the front runner, Malam Bacai Sanha of the ruling Independence of Guinea- Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC).

Sanha, 62, was president of the National Assembly from 1994 to 1999. He acted as president of the 1999-2000 transitional period. He ran twice for the presidency, but lost to his rival Kumba Yalain 1999 and Vieira in 2005 respectively.

His PAIGC, the traditionally dominant party, won the legislative elections in November, scoring 67 of the 100 seats in the National Assembly (parliament).

Another favorite is Yala, 56, the leader of the Party of Social Renovation (PRS). He was president between 2000 and 2003. His PRS took the second place in the legislative elections in November, winning 28 seats.

Henrique Rosa, an independent candidate with strong support of civil society and a high-profile political background. Between September 2003 and October 2005, he acted as interim president of Guinea-Bissau, with a mandate to organize the legislative elections in 2004, and then the presidential election in 2005.

Francisca Vaz Turpin of the Party of Guinean Patriotic Union is the only woman to contend in the presidential election.

Elections results are expected within 10 days.

The situation in Guinea-Bissau remains fragile, although authorities have deployed 3,900 police and military personnel to tighten security. All land, air and sea borders were closed at midnight on Saturday until midnight on Sunday, according to the Interior Ministry.

Although electorate went to the polls in anticipation of a new era, their hopes were more or less overcast by the post-legislative election killings in the coup-plagued former Portuguese colony.

Voters' solidarity were fully demonstrated in the legislative vote with a high turnout of more than 70 percent and a smooth process reported across the country. But a mutiny erupted only days afterwards, in which President Vieira was confined to his residence.

Vieira, who ruled Guinea-Bissau for 23 years, failed to survive the next attack on March 2, when "men in uniform" gunned him down at his residence in a revenge attack hours after an explosion killed his rival, military chief of staff Batista Tagme Na Waie.

The twin assassinations dampened expectations of the international community, which hailed the ballot a success, hoping it would lead the country out of the shadow of both instability and drug trafficking.

On the tip of West Africa with jagged coastline, Guinea-Bissau is being used by traffickers as a major hub for the flow of cocaine from Latin America to Europe.

Instability continued to dash the hope of both the people of Guinea-Bissau and the international community until recently, when the minister of territorial administration and presidential candidate, Baciro Dabo, and former defense minister Helder Proenca were killed in what the intelligence agency said "a coup attempt."

A series of probes followed, but no culprits have been arrested, despite appeals by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to bring perpetrators to justice.

Given the development since the legislative elections in November, analysts turn their eyes to the post-election situation rather than the election day operations.

To ensure stability after the election, the United Nations has recommended the creation of a peace consolidation mission in Guinea, known as UNIOGBIS, which has a mandate till January 2010.

The Economic Community of West African States, which includes Guinea-Bissau, has unveiled a support of 3.85 million U. S. dollars for the June 28 election, including the payment of arrears for three months to the armed forces.

At a day-long summit held on Monday in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, regional leaders also decided to launch an international donors conference after the election as a guarantee for the country's smooth development.

Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world, being ranked the 175th out of 177 nations in the latest U.N. Development Program's Human Development Index. The country's life expectancy is averaged at less than 46 years.

Covering an area of 28,120 square km, the country lies on Africa's west coast, bordered by Senegal to the north, Guinea to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its main exports include fish and cashew nuts, which are estimated by the International Monetary Fund at nearly 94 million U.S. dollars in 2008, accounting for 90 percent of the total export volume.

Source:Xinhua