- BANGUI, Central African Republic: Polls have opened in the Central African Republic where voters will cast ballots for president.
- Thousands lined up Sunday at one polling station in the capital, Bangui.
Strongman-president Francois Bozize is expected to win another term, this time facing the man he overthrew nearly eight years ago.
Few believe the vote will bring much change to this forgotten backwater in the heart of Africa, a desperately dirt-poor nation that’s suffered five coups and myriad army mutinies since independence 50 years ago.
About 1.8 million of the nation’s 4.8 million people are registered to vote at about 4,500 polling stations. They will also cast ballots for 105 national assembly seats.
Several hundred international observers, including those from the European Union and the African Union, are monitoring the vote.
