OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso -- Thousands of people cast their ballots Sunday in Burkina Faso's first presidential and legislative elections since a popular uprising toppled the nation's longtime leader last year.
Many say the vote will be the most democratic in the West African nation's history because no incumbent is on the ballot and the presidential guard has been dissolved. Fourteen candidates vied for the presidency. A candidate needs to win a majority to avoid a runoff, which would be held next month.
The front-runners are ex-Prime Minister Roch Marc Christian Kabore and Zephirin Diabre, a former regional chief of French nuclear company Areva SA. As many as 99 political parties put forward 7,000 candidates for 127 seats in the legislature.
Twelve hours of voting at more than 17,800 polling stations ended about 6 p.m. local time, and officials began counting the ballots Sunday night. Preliminary results are expected to start being announced today.
"It is a victory for the youth that has expressed its will for change and for real democracy," said transitional President Michel Kafando after casting his vote.
He also said it was a victory for the about 17 million citizens of Burkina Faso who have waited decades for a democratic vote, and he called on citizens to avoid violence after results are announced.
In a country where three-quarters of the population is under 30 years old, many young people voted for the first time. The election "will bring a bit of change to Burkina Faso," said Jocelyne Rouamba, a 20-year-old voter.
A popular uprising in October 2014 forced President Blaise Compaore to resign after a 27-year rule. A transitional government was put in place, but it was soon at odds with Compaore's elite presidential guard. The presidential guard staged a coup in September that lasted only a week and caused the election, originally scheduled for October, to be postponed. It was the country's sixth coup since it gained independence from France in 1960.
Burkina Faso's new electoral code bars presidential candidates who supported Compaore's bid to change the constitution, although the ex-president's party could have a strong showing in the legislative election.
"We must show that civilians can rule the country and bring it to normality. We have faced a lot of coups and it is enough," said Kabore.
Abdoulaye Sawadogo, an engineer at a road-building company, said he hopes the new leader will address issues of employment, health and education.
Cynthia Ohayon, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, said whoever is elected will have a hard time fulfilling voters' hopes.
"The expectations are so high -- for change, for justice, for the fight against corruption," Ohayon said.
More than 17,000 local and foreign observers monitored the poll, and 25,000 soldiers and police were deployed.
Information for this article was contributed by Brahima Ouedraogo and Robbie Corey-Boulet of The Associated Press and by Simon Gongo and Olivier Monnier of Bloomberg News.
A Section on 11/30/2015