Bissau - Voters went to the polls in Guinea-Bissau on Sunday for a presidential runoff between two former heads of state of the coup-prone West African nation, whose veteran leader was assassinated in March.
However, amid fears of violence when results are known, the country's army chief, General Zamora Induta, said candidates should turn to the courts if there are any disputes, warning on public radio that the military "will not allow any threat to public order, stability and internal peace".
The election was triggered by the killing of long-time president Joao Bernardo Vieira by soldiers on March 2, in an apparent revenge attack after the assassination of then army chief General Batista Tagme Na Waie in a bombing.
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The runoff was between ex-presidents Kumba Yala and Malam Bacai Sanha, who won the biggest share of the vote in the first round on June 28. Sanha secured 39.59 percent of the first-round ballots - a 10-point advantage over Yala.
Polls closed at 7pm and there were no reports of incidents during the voting around the country, the National Electoral Commission (CNE) said. Preliminary results were expected to be announced in the next few days.
The head of the European Union's observer mission Johan Van Hecke said the vote ran in a "calm and orderly" atmosphere.
"The voting was better organised than in the first round," added Van Hecke, who was one of 21 EU observers among 150 international monitors of Sunday's poll
He also said turnout was around the same as the first round, which was at 60 percent, and "perhaps a little lower", he added, without giving a figure.
The African Union's special envoy Joao Miranda said he had met with both candidates and appealed for "calm and a spirit of fair play".
"They told me the loser would congratulate the winner and would promise to work with him to guarantee peace and stability," Miranda said.
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