Port-au-Prince.– Many Haitians are wary of voting following weeks of clashes, at least one of them deadly, between anti-government protesters and security forces, as well as fights between political parties that have left at least two people dead in provincial areas.

Only minor skirmishes were reported early Sunday. University students, who have been protesting for weeks against curriculum changes and for a higher minimum wage, burned tires and threw rocks at police before retreating onto campus.

Election officials flew street banners and sent text messages to encourage a big turnout for Haiti'a hotly anticipated Senate run-offs, but the polls opened quietly Sunday with no voters and no lines.

Eleven vacant seats in the 30-member Senate are on the line, and with them, President Rene Preval's hopes of overpowering uncooperative legislators and pushing through internationally backed economic reforms and constitutional amendments that would give his successors more power.