Tiny, poverty stricken Guinea Bissau, seen as a major African drugs hub, goes to the polls on Sunday for parliamentary elections observers hope will bring stability to the West African nation.After an election campaign marked by mutual accusations from the major parties that their rivals were funded by drugs money, international observers said on the eve of the vote that "everything is ready".
"The staff at the national electoral commission and the people in the regions have done some remarkable work," the head of the European Union's electoral observer mission Johan van Hecke said.
"We've toured the country (and) we think it's ready for the elections," he added, praising the "remarkable work" done.
The vote is seen a crucial step in the rebuilding of the country a decade on from an 11-month civil war that wracked the country in 1998-99.
In past decades, the former Portuguese colony has been plagued by bloody coups and uprisings.
Recently the country, ranked as one of the world's poorest nations, has become a transit point for Latin American drugs destined for Europe.
Last month the United Nations said it was "seriously concerned by the continued growth in drug trafficking as well as organised crime which threatens peace and security in Guinea-Bissau and in the (west African) sub-region."
The issue of drug-trafficking has taken centre stage in the election campaign with the major parties accusing each other of being funded with drugs money.
There has been a flurry of spending from the big parties expected to take most of the vote on Sunday, with luxury mansions and big trucks being hired by the campaigns, said one foreign observer who did not want to be named.
