Guinea-Bissau Holds Elections

GUINEA-BISSAU, a West African country known for its political crises and coups, votes for a new leader on Sunday to replace the late President Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira, who was assassinated more than three months ago.
The ballot in the tiny country flanked by Senegal and Guinea was peaceful, but analysts say the real test for the former Portuguese colony will come afterward.
The military has held sway over the country's top politicians for decades, and since the introduction of multiparty politics 15 years ago no president has completed the constitutionally mandated five-year term in office. The poor African country also has seen drug money flow to corrupt officials as smugglers pay bribes to use its coastline and remote airstrips for cocaine transshipments.
"The real test for Guinea-Bissau is not whether the election is held peacefully, but whether state institutions have the capacity to prevent the country from sliding into chaos in the aftermath," consulting group IHS Global Insight said. "The military has been far too dominant in Bissau-Guinean politics. ... There is a real need for the international community to offer support."
Vieira was murdered March 2, just hours after his longtime rival, the head of the armed forces, was killed by a bomb. Little was done to investigate the killings and no arrests have been made.
Despite fears the army would take over, though, the transition has been smooth. The head of parliament, Raimundo Pereira, was swiftly named interim president and is leading the interim government organizing Sunday's vote.
The ballot is going ahead, despite the slaying earlier this month by security forces of presidential candidate Baciro Dabo, whose family denied allegations he had been involved in a coup plot.
Eleven candidates are vying for the presidency, but only three are considered serious contenders.