Mauritanians went to the polls on Sunday to elect a civilian president and end what has effectively been 29 years of military rule.

“In previous elections we knew how the results would go but this time it’s really undecided,” said Harouna Tirera, a voter in the capital Nouakchott.

The Ministry of Interior said with votes counted for 82 percent of registered voters the two leading candidates are former cabinet minister Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdellahi and longtime opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah. Both are civilians.

Neither candidate appeared to have gained more than 50 percent of the vote so a run-off election is scheduled for 25 March.

Mauritania, one of Africa’s largest and least populated countries, was led for 21 years by Col Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya until he was overthrown in August 2005 by Col Ely Ould Mohamed Vall.

Vall instituted major democratic reforms, including a more independent judiciary, a less restricted media and an independent electoral commission. Voting started with a referendum on a new constitution in June 2006, followed by municipal and legislative elections in November. Those polls were considered the most fair in Mauritania’s history.

For the first time, the United Nations provided electoral technical assistance, managing US$12 million in donor funds.

Voter turnout on Sunday was high in Nouakchott with people lining up at voting stations despite the intense desert heat and dusty winds. In the northern towns of Atar and Nouadhibou people started forming lines at 5 a.m., two hours before the polls opened, according to observers from the European Union (EU).

Observers said the voting appeared to be fair. “We have not received any complaints on procedures,” said Marie-Anne Isler-Beguin, the head of an 81-member EU observer team. Vijai Makhan, the special envoy from the African Union, which sent 15 observers, also said, “There were no major incidents.”

The chairman of the voting stations in the eastern town of Koubeni refused access to the representative of the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) but the chairman was then quickly relieved of his position, the CENI said.

After Vall cast his vote he told the press that this was a big day for his country but just the beginning of a long process. “We still have a lot to do [to ensure that Mauritania is democratic] but I am sure that the people of Mauritania are capable of doing what is needed to finish the process,” he said.

The critical moment will come when the army must return to the barracks, according to Cedric Jourde, a political scientist at Ottawa University who closely follows Mauritanian politics. He said it remained to be seen to what extent the military would “accept to be subordinated to a non-military head of state” and civilian government.