Voters turned out in droves in Central African Republic on Sunday to elect a new president in a run-off poll to end two years of military rule in the impoverished former French colony. Long, orderly lines of people snaked away from well-guarded polling stations throughout the rundown capital of Bangui while the security forces patrolled the potholed streets and taxis and minibuses ferried voters to and fro, according to Reuters. Central African Republic is a landlocked country that stretches from lush rainforest in the southwest to dry savannah in the north. It exports diamonds, timber, coffee and cotton but remains one of the poorest countries on earth. Since independence, Central Africans have endured coups, military uprisings and brutal dictatorships which have hamstrung economic development. Bangui is now rated the second worst city on earth to live in after Baghdad. The latest coup was in March 2003 when former army chief Francois Bozize attacked the capital with the help of fighters from neighbouring Chad and booted out President Ange Felix Patasse, who now lives in exile. --More 1448 Local Time 1148 GMT
