Polls have opened in the presidential election in the west African state of Togo. President Faure Gnassingbe is running for a second term, and his main challenger is Jean Pierre Fabre of the Union of Forces for Change (UFC). The vote is being closely watched by the international community amid hopes of avoiding repetition of the violence that marred the last election. All parties have been stressing the need for a peaceful poll. President Gnassingbe is hoping to be re-elected in circumstances that will win the approval that was so lacking at the last election. The 2005 vote happened soon after the military had installed him in power on the death of his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema. The main opposition party, the UFC, believes it won the last election. Hundreds died in ensuing protests. Campaigning this time around has been peaceful and has at times strayed into good-natured rivalry. But the authorities are taking no chances and are mixing the message of harmony with the presence of a 6,000-strong election security force. Election observers from the European Union, the African Union and the west African regional grouping Ecowas are on hand, along with the Francophone organisation. The structures in place for this election point to a desire to be seen to be doing the right thing. For the first time there is an independent electoral commission. The government website is being more than just a government mouthpiece and talks in fair terms about the opposition campaigns. But there have been claims that the ruling party of President Gnassingbe has far more resources behind its campaign than the opposition and that the vote will not be fair. The run-up to the election saw some opposition leaders suspend participation in the campaign because they were unhappy with the organisation of the election. Source: BBC