布基纳法索举行新总统和议会选举

Voters in Burkina Faso have voted Sunday for a new president and parliament in what is being called the country's most open election in its history.

Five million registered voters were eligible to select from among a slate of 14 presidential candidates.

Twelve hours of voting ended about 6 p.m. local time. Officials have begun counting the ballots and the first results are expected late Monday. If no one earns more than 50 percent of the vote, a second round will be held.

Former President Blaise Compaore led Burkina Faso for 27 years before trying last year to get rid of a constitutional term limit and make himself eligible for another round in office. That move brought protests that forced him to resign.

An interim government replaced Compaore, and the election was supposed to take place in October, but a brief, failed military coup forced the process to be postponed.