Dili, Jumada II 21, 1438, Mar 20, 2017, SPA -- Asia's youngest democracy is choosing a new president in its first such election since a UN peacekeeping mission left the country in 2012. The vote is a political preliminary for July's vote for a prime minister. Eight candidates were in the running for the largely ceremonial post of president as polling stations opened on Monday morning at 7 a.m. local time (2200 UTC) in the east Asian country. Polls were due to close at 7 p.m. local time. --SPA 07:13 LOCAL TIME 04:13 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w357316