France, Nov. 24 -- Embaló, a 53-year-old former army general,is up against 11 other candidates.The strongest of them is Fernando Dias da Costa, a 47-year-old relative newcomer backed by former prime minister Domingos Simões Pereira.

Dias also has the backing of the main opposition party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, which led the fight for independence from Portugal in the 1960s and 1970s.

That party was barred from fielding its own candidates for the first time, after authorities said it filed papers late.

Analysts are predicting a close race between Embaló and Dias da Costa, and a runoff will be held if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote.

Nearly half the country's po...