Accra, Dec 8 (IANS): Ghana's general election voting closed giving way to the counting of ballots.

The voting began at 7 a.m., and closed at 5 p.m. on Saturday with more than 18 million eligible voters taking to the polling stations across the country to choose a new president and 276 parliamentarians, Xinhua news agency reoorted.

The Electoral Commission (EC) said in its afternoon update that the election was generally peaceful with no major incidents.

Jean Mensah, chairperson of the EC, urged officials of the commission in charge of polling stations to discharge their duties lawfully and deliver unquestionable outcomes at the end.

The EC said 13 candidates had entered the race to contest the presidential election, but one died, leaving 12, with 801 parliamentary candidates.

The winner of the presidential election needs to receive 50 per cent plus at least one vote. But if no candidate secures more than 50 per cent of the votes in the first round of voting, the two candidates with the most votes will compete in a run-off.

This is the ninth general election since the West African country returned to constitutional rule in 1992.