Voting under way in Senegal presidential election

A banner in Dakar encourages people to vote in the presidential election (Mosa’ab Elshamy/AP/PA)

Polls have opened in Senegal in a tightly-contested presidential race which follows months of uncertainty and unrest that has tested the west African nation’s reputation as a stable democracy.

The roads were largely deserted early on Sunday in capital Dakar and the nation’s elite police force were stationed all over the city in armoured vehicles.