Brussels 25.11.2020 Burkina Faso’s president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore,63, is clearly leading in results announced from more than half of the country’s voting districts following weekend elections.

Kabore, bidding for a second term at the helm of the troubled Sahel state, has 58.14 percent of the vote, according to the ongoing count conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).

Opposition leader Zephirin Diabre has 14.25%, while Eddie Komboigo, who heads a former ruling party, has 13.62%, it said.

The figures are derived from results from 196 out of the 368 districts, embassies or consulates where votes for Sunday’s elections were cast.

Kabore is seeking an overall majority from voting day to avoid a runoff in which he would stand against a single candidate backed by a united opposition.

He has been under fire for his response to a five-year-old jihadist campaign that has rolled in from Mali, claiming at least 1,200 lives and forcing around a million people to flee their homes.

The elections on Sunday were for Burkina’s legislature as well as its presidency, where executive power in the is concentrated.

Opposition parties insist the vote was marked by fraud and flawed procedures.