DAKAR Voting started peacefully on Sunday in Senegal's general elections in which the opposition is hoping to break nearly four decades of dominance by President Abdou Diouf's party. Polling began slowly in the capital Dakar, where opposition parties command significant and militant following. Residents of the southern province of Casamance said army and police commandos were out in force after separatist rebels killed six people there on Saturday and threatened to disrupt polling.

Diouf's Socialist Party (PS) has held power since Senegal's independence from France in 1960. Despite giving Senegal political stability that is the envy of a volatile region, the PS has not matched that success in terms of economic development. Many Senegalese say they want a new leadership to steer their country into the 21st century. However, most admit the opposition has not found any formula to end the Socialists' stranglehold on power and many have decided to boycott the elections in frustration.

I didn't register to vote and I won't be voting because the result is a foregone conclusion, said a teacher at Dakar University in one typical comment in the capital. (Reuter)