Burkina Faso’s Kabore ahead in early presidential election results

OUAGADOUGOU, Nov 23- Incumbent Burkina Faso President Roch Kabore was leading with just three voting districts declared on Monday, the electoral commission said, a day after voting dominated by the threat of Islamist violence. Groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State operate across vast swathes of Burkina Faso, part of a widening jihadist threat in West…

OUAGADOUGOU, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Incumbent Burkina Faso

President Roch Kabore was leading with just three voting

districts declared on Monday, the electoral commission said, a

day after voting dominated by the threat of Islamist violence.

Hundreds of thousands of citizens were unable to vote onSunday because their polling stations remained closed for fearof attack.

Groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State operate acrossvast swathes of Burkina Faso, part of a widening jihadist threatin West Africa’s Sahel, a semi-arid region south of the SaharaDesert.

Kabore, who was first elected in 2015, led in all three of atotal of 360 voting districts whose results were announced onMonday afternoon, totalling more than five times as many votesas his nearest rival, Eddie Komboigo.

Komboigo is the head of the party of Blaise Compaore, whowas president for 27 years until a 2014 revolution. Kabore’sother main competitor in the field of 13 candidates is formerfinance minister and 2015 runner-up Zephirin Diabre.

The three districts announced are considered favourable toKabore. Analysts expect a tight race that could go to a secondround if no candidate wins more than 50%.

The commission said it would continue to announce resultsover the course of the day.

(Reporting by Thiam Ndiaga; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing byNick Macfie)