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 LOME, Togo (AP) - Togo voters ignored reports of violence to elect a new president Sunday, choosing from among the son of their late dictator and two rivals in an effort to put democracy on track after months of turmoil caused by the sudden death of Africa's longest-serving ruler.
Many hope the election will revive this tattered nation and bury the oppressive legacy of President Gnassingbe Eyadema, who died in February after nearly four decades of iron-fisted rule. But some fear Togo may go the way of other war-ravaged West African nations no matter how voting unfolds.
"We need a change in mentality here," said Christian Yenkey, a 50-year-old doctor waiting to cast his ballot at a secondary school in the capital, Lome. "I always voted before and never saw anything change. I'm hopeful that this election will be different."
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