Polling stations set up ahead of presidential election

Officers set up a polling station at a school in the Togolese capital early on Saturday morning, ahead of the country's presidential elections.The West African nation is voting in an election that is likely to see the incumbent re-elected for a fourth term, despite years of calls by the opposition for new leadership.President Faure Gnassingbe’s family has been in power for more than five decades, and his ruling party says a win is all but certain.

But months of anti-government protests in 2017, with about 20 people killed, were a sign of impatience with the family's hold on power.Togo's government this week expelled a key US-based election observer group, weakening efforts to monitor for any irregularities.The United States has criticized the expulsion.

In power since 2005 following the death of his father, Eyadema, who seized power in 1967, Gnassingbe now has the right to remain in office if elected until 2030.In May he enacted a law limiting presidents to two five-year terms, but because it is not retroactive, his previous three terms are not counted.Gnassingbe has called on voters to renew confidence in him to guarantee peace and security in Togo amid a growing extremism threat in the West African region.

He also promised to improve the health, education and agricultural sectors.He faces off against six other candidates including Jean-Pierre Fabre, 67, with the National Alliance for Change, who came in second in elections in 2010 and 2015.Fabre contested Gnassingbe's 2015 win with about 56% of the votes.

Opposition groups have chosen not to support a single candidate in hopes that voting in the nation of nearly 8 million people goes to a second round.But some observers worry that Saturday's vote won’t be transparent and fair.More than 3.6 million people are registered to vote in what many hope will be a calm election.

The vote is being held against the backdrop of rising prices for basic necessities, weak health systems and an education sector in which teachers continually threaten strikes. Unemployment among young people is increasing.