Guinea-Bissau on Sunday held a peaceful run-off election to elect a successor to assassinated president Joao Bernardo Vieira, according to dpa. Observers hope that the election will bring stability to a country blighted by instability since independence from Portugal in 1974. However, political violence in the run-up to the election has led international conflict resolution bodies to call on the remaining two candidates not to turn to violence after the poll. Local officials estimated turnout at around 60 per cent of the 600,000 registered voters in the country. Results are not expected for a few days. Malam Bacai Sanha, the candidate for the ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), came out ahead in the first round of voting in late June, scooping 39.6 per cent of the vote, followed by opposition candidate Kumba Yala with 29.4 per cent. Independent candidate Henrique Rosa polled almost 24 per cent of the vote in the first round. How his supporters choose to use their ballots will decide the election. Sanha is expected to gain most of Rosa's votes, making him the favourite to win. The first round of voting passed off peacefully and was described as fair by election observers, even though political analysts say a sense of insecurity and anxiety persists almost five months after the death of Vieira. Vieira was killed by soldiers in an apparent revenge attack for the murder of the army chief. The run-up to the first round was marred by political violence. Presidential candidate Baciro Dabo, a close ally of Vieira, and other political figures were murdered by government security forces in early June. They were accused of planning a coup. The International Crisis Group and Canada's International Institute of Applied Negotiation sent an open letter to Sanha and Yala this week, urging them not to use such tactics should they lose. "We particularly call on the losing party to refrain from taking any form of violent actions that could further undermine the fragile stability in the country," the bodies said in a joint statement. Sanha and Yala - both former presidents - have promised to end the culture of assassinations and to tackle drug smugglers and bring stability. The tiny West African nation has been dubbed a "narco-state" for its role as a hub for drugs trafficked from South America to Europe. No president in Guinea-Bissau has completed a five-year term since the early 1990s. The election is also seen as important for the reputation of the region, where both Guinea and Mauritania have suffered coups and Niger's president is attempting to override the constitution and stay in power. The United Nations ranks Guinea-Bissau as one of the most impoverished nations in the world, with a life expectancy of just 45 years. One in five children die before their fifth birthday.
