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 BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau (AP) - Guinea-Bissau voters were choosing Sunday between a former military ruler and the interim leader who replaced him, as the West African nation elected its first president since a 2003 coup.
Residents hope the election can move the impoverished nation toward democracy and development. Guinea-Bissau has suffered coups d'etat, army revolts and civil strife since it won a 12-year war against former colonial ruler Portugal and gained independence in 1973.
Sunday's runoff vote pitted Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira — who seized power in a 1980 coup and ruled for 19 years until his own ouster in the midst of a civil war — against Malam Bacai Sanha, who led the interim government that replaced Vieira's. The men were the top vote-getters in a first round of voting on June 19.
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