The president of one of Africa?s most stable democracies seeks another five-year term, jostling with 14 contenders in a race that may hinge on the votes of young people hungry for jobs.

Early results reported by state-run Senegalese Press Agency indicated President Abdoulaye Wade was in the lead but did not say by how much. It was not known how many votes had been counted, but they included polling stations in key cities including the capital Dakar and Thies, the agency said. The first official results are not expected to be released by the electoral commission until Monday night, Election Commissioner Issa Sall told reporters.

Wade has presided over an era of peace rare in a tumultuous part of the continent, and the economy ? though struggling by Western standards ? is stronger than in many African nations. Still, thousands of desperate youths have already voted with their feet, risking their lives to slip illegally into Europe by sea.The median age in this country of 12 million is about 19 years, according to US government statistics, compared with 36 in the United States. About half of Senegal?s work force is unemployed. The 80-year-old Wade loooked confident as he cast his ballot in a dusty polling booth in this seaside capital.