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In the streets of Ouagadougou, the icon of the Burkinabe revolution is omnipresent. Assassinated thirty years ago, Thomas Sankara, the “African Che Guevara” fascinates many people as well as his mysterious death.

Thomas Sankara came to power by a coup in 1983, aged 33, shook the post-colonial era by renaming the then Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, meaning “the land of honest men “.

As the head of the National Committee of the Revolution, Thomas Sankara lived a very simple life admired by many.

A school principal, Alphonse Naba, recalls vividly the early days of the revolution.

“It was hard for some, we will say the haves and the rich at the time. They had the impression that the revolution had come to deny them of their wealth. But for the average Burkinabé, we were really happy. “

Sankara was assassinated by a commando in 1987, his then companion in arms, Blaise Compaore ruled the countryfor the next 27 years, making it impossible to investigate the death of Sankara.

But the fall of Blaise Compaoré in 2014 through a popular uprising resulted in a judicial inquiry as well as commemorations in homage to the revolutionary icon.

Senator George Weah has taken the lead in the early election results announced by Liberia’s electoral commission on Thursday evening.

The National Elections Commission Chairman Jerome Korkoya announced the results of 1,232 polling places out of the 5,390 in the 15 counties.

The former international footballer led in 11 counties including Grand Kru, Sinoe, River Gee and Grand Gedeh County where had 76.1% of the votes.

He was trailed by the Vice President Joseph Boakai who led in only the Lofa County by 78.1% while Charles Walker Brumskine also led in Grand Bassa (48.4%) and Rivercess (37.3%).

Prince Johnson led in his Nimba County where he is the Senator by 52.6%.

Click here for the full provisional results

The NEC says it will release the results from the remaining 4,158 polling places in the coming days.

It called on the media not to release unverified results and cautioned the parties and candidates with complaints to express them through the legal channels with supporting evidence.

20 presidential candidates are vying to replace Africa’s first female democratically elected president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

They include former footballer Senator George Weah, Vice President Joseph Boakai, former rebel leader Prince Johnson and the only woman in the race, former model Macdella Cooper.

There were 986 aspirants for the 73 seats in the House of representatives. Their results will be declared later, Korkoya said on Thursday.

2,183,683 people registered to vote and the NEC says it recorded a high turnout.

Monrovia - Thousands lined up at polling booths in Liberia's capital on Tuesday for their first democratic transfer of power in 73 years in a vote haunted by a savage civil war that ended in 2003.

Many Liberians praised their outgoing president - 78-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - for keeping peace since the 14-year conflict when gangs of drugged child soldiers wearing ammunition belts marauded through the streets.

Yet, while preparations and voting have been peaceful, a former rebel leader, Prince Johnson, is one of the 20 candidates and an ex-wife of warlord Charles Taylor, now in a British prison, is the running mate of one of the favourites, former soccer star George Weah.

Unlike neighbouring Sierra Leone which had a U.N.-backed court for civil war-era crimes, Liberia has prioritised reconciliation over justice. Some of those involved in the war that killed a quarter of a million people are still prominent public figures.

"I am just voting for peace. We want peace right now, peaceful country, we want a peaceful situation now and things to go fine," said James Marthics, a voter in Paynesville, a suburb of the capital Monrovia.

Some had been waiting for hours before dawn to vote and brought small wooden chairs with them, forming orderly queues as vendors sold them soft drinks and palm wine. Early voting in Monrovia largely went smoothly, though with delays in some areas.

"I need a change of this government that is in power," said Richard Akoi, 32, a former child soldier who fought for Taylor's rebels. "I'm a die-hard fan of former president Taylor and if he shows up today in the election I'm going to vote for him."

Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female president, urged Liberians to maintain the peace in an address to the nation on the eve of the vote.

"Embrace your neighbour, regardless of their political choice," she said, wearing one of her emblematic bright headdresses.

Liberia is Africa's oldest modern republic founded by freed U.S. slaves in 1847. But its last democratic power transfer, defined as a peaceful handover at the end of a full term, was in 1943.

Johnson Sirleaf beat Weah to win the election in 2005 after a period of transitional government following the civil war that ended two years earlier.

Results are expected to begin arriving later this week. But most analysts think it is unlikely that any single candidate will win a majority of votes on Tuesday, raising the likelihood of a run-off election some time in early November.

Among the favourites are Vice President Joseph Nyuma Boakai of the ruling Unity Party known locally as a "countryman" meaning an indigenous Liberian; international lawyer Charles Brumskine of the Liberal Party; and Weah, who played for AC Milan and Paris St Germain and was greeted at the polling station by lively supporters in football shirts.

Rebel leader Johnson, who in a broadly circulated video tape was shown casually sipping a beer as he directed the torture of President Samuel Doe shortly before his murder in 1990, is considered to have only a remote chance.

Roddy Barclay, director at risk advisory Africa Practice, said the participation of civil war-era figures was unlikely to lead to a "slide back into an era of warlord politics".

As well as her role in keeping the peace, Johnson Sirleaf is held in high esteem internationally for promoting women's rights and for respecting the constitution in a continent where many leaders cling to power beyond their legal tenure.

But many at home, who call her simply "Ellen", say they are disappointed she has not done more to accelerate development and end corruption in a country still ranked near the bottom of the U.N. human development index at 177 out of 188 countries.

One polling station in Monrovia had no electricity and officials had to use flashlights to illuminate voter lists, a Reuters witness said.

Others blame her for the legacy of a weak health care system which has still not fully recovered after the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic that killed nearly 5 000 people in Liberia.

"We don't feel free because the children are not going to school," said Emma Nathaniel, a 60-year-old widow with 12 children. "We are straining ourselves," she said from the voting queue, surrounded by piles of garbage.

LONDON – Liverpool forward Sadio Mané could be out of action for up to six weeks after picking up a hamstring injury on international duty, the club said on Tuesday.

A statement on the club’s website said he was substituted just before the end of Senegal’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over the Cape Verde Islands on Saturday.

“It has now been confirmed that he picked up an injury during that fixture that could keep him out of action for up to six weeks,” the statement said.

Mané’s absence is a huge blow for Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp after the forward scored three goals in four Premier League appearances this season.

The injury is especially badly timed for Klopp with Liverpool’s bitter rivals Manchester United visiting Anfield on Saturday.

Liverpool are already seven points behind United in the Premier League and can’t afford to drop points against Jose Mourinho’s in-form United.

Mané’s value to Liverpool has been immense since his move from Southampton in 2016, but he has struggled to stay fit.

He scored 13 Premier League goals last season despite missing the whole of January due to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Liverpool won just once in seven matches in all competitions during his time away with Senegal.

Mané tore the meniscus in a knee during April’s Merseyside derby against Everton which prematurely ended his season and required surgery.

They coped better that time, with five wins, two draws and a defeat.

Having worked hard to get back to fitness this term, Mané was sent off at Manchester City on September 9, resulting in a three-match ban.

Since his debut in August 2016 Liverpool average 2.2 Premier League goals with Mané in the team, compared to 1.6 goals in his absence.

Klopp has signed Mohamed Salah and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain since the end of last season to add more depth to his attacking options.

Egypt winger Salah has scored six in 11 games this season, making him the club’s leading scorer, but former Arsenal midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain has been less impressive so far.

Nairobi - Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga said on Tuesday he would not stand in a court-ordered re-run of August's presidential election that is scheduled for October 26.

Odinga has repeatedly said he would boycott the polls if the election board did not replace officials he blamed for irregularities in August.

"In the interest of the people of Kenya, the region and world at large, we believe that all will be best served by (opposition grouping) NASA vacating the presidential candidature of elections slated for 26th of October, 2017," Odinga told a news conference in the capital of Nairobi.

Last month, the Supreme Court nullified incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta's win on August 8 due to procedural irregularities and ordered a new poll to be held within 60 days.

On Tuesday, legislators from the ruling party were debating proposed amendments to the election laws, which said if a candidate boycotted an election, the remaining candidate automatically wins.

Opposition legislators boycotted the session.

Ruling party legislators told Reuters on Monday that they were trying to head off a constitutional crisis if Odinga pulled out of the election.