[...] the capital's largest Muslim cemetery has reopened just ahead of the country's landmark presidential runoff vote, with imams, the archbishop and ambassadors all gathering together to watch as the reddish earth was broken to once again receive the dead with palm fronds. The election is meant to end a two-year political transition that began when a Muslim rebel leader stepped aside under mounting international pressure less than a year after he deposed the Christian president of a decade. The runoff vote then was postponed several times and the legislative vote was thrown out altogether because of concerns about irregularities. Since independence from France in 1960 more leaders have come to power here through coups than through fair elections. Pickup trucks carrying dancing supporters and blaring music from loudspeakers snake through a city still marked by burned out cars and homes reduced to rubble.