(Updates with polls closing, observer's comments) By Nick Tattersall BAMAKO, April 29 (Reuters) - Malians voted peacefully on Sunday in elections expected to give President Amadou Toumani Toure a second term at the helm of one of the world's poorest countries. A steady trickle of voters turned out at polling stations in the capital Bamako and around the vast former French colony on the Sahara's southern edge to choose who will be president for the next five years. Eight candidates including Toure are standing. Soldiers guarded voting centres in schools and public buildings and balloting was calm and orderly -- a marked contrast to the violence and chaos that marred elections in Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria, just over a week ago. Many of Mali's 6.9 million registered voters waited until late in the day to cast their ballots, once the 40 degree Celsius heat had subsided. Initial results were not expected before Monday. Observers said aside from a few technical glitches the vote appeared to have gone smoothly. "The police have remained restrained ... there has been no pressure on voters," said Gerard Latortue, a former Haitian prime minister and head of the International Francophone Organisation (OIF) observer mission. "It seems the repeated calls on radio and television explaining that the ballot was the best way to make your voice heard have been heeded," Latortue told Reuters. Turnout has traditionally been low in Malian elections, due to high levels of illiteracy and the long distances that many rural voters have to walk to cast their ballots. Earlier, Toure, dressed in white robes and a Muslim cap, voted in central Bamako. "I respect my adversaries ... My wish is for a turnout which reflects our democratic culture," he told reporters, as children and supporters mobbed him chanting "ATT", the initials by which he is popularly known. DEMOCRATIC EXAMPLE Former coup leader Toure is favourite to win the vote. He has centred his campaign on continuing a development programme which has already brought roads and basic facilities to remote mud-hut villages. "We have to choose someone who can set the right development priorities," said Cheikh Oumar Konate, 28, a school supervisor, as he voted. Toure seized power in a 1991 coup but won international acclaim for handing over to a civilian president. He then retired from the army and was elected head of state in 2002. Some, like Toure's main election rival Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the national assembly president and former prime minister, say he should have done more to fight poverty. "People want change," Keita said, casting his vote in Bamako. He repeated complaints of fraud, saying electoral lists were out of date, ballot papers had been circulated before voting began and that the military had been told to vote for Toure. Toure's camp has dismissed the allegations as preparation for a challenge to the result if the president wins the first round outright with more than 50 percent of the votes. Diplomats say they have no evidence of irregularities significant enough to undermine the vote's credibility. Analysts hope Sunday's poll will be a boost to Africa's democratic credentials, after elections in Nigeria which were condemned by international observers.
