Polling stations in Togo closed on Sunday after a tense day of voting for a new president to replace Africa's longest-serving leader, who died in February after 38 years in office. The poll pitted Faure Gnassingbe, the 39-year-old son of Togo's former president Gnassingbe Eyadema, against a coalition of six opposition parties and effectively became a referendum on four decades of repressive rule by Eyadema's northern clan. As night fell in the capital, barricades of burning tyres clogged a road leading to opposition strongholds, heavily-armed soldiers patrolled in pickups with mounted machineguns and both sides accused the other of fraud and intimidation. There were isolated incidents -- in a northern suburb two ruling party (RPT) militants had machete wounds after an attack -- but there was no explosion of violence as feared. Many angry opposition youths said they were just awaiting a signal. "Enough is enough. We want a change," said unemployed Theodore Teva, 27. "If the (ruling party) declares victory there's going to be trouble." Gnassingbe was named president by the army when his father died, in violation of the constitution, but agreed to step down and hold polls after an international outcry and intense pressure from African peers to respect the law. --MORE 2318 Local Time 2018 GMT
