08/12/2012 14:01
Ghana extends voting in some areas after glitches, delays
Ghana extended voting into a second day Saturday in areas where election materials arrived late or glitches with a new biometric identification system caused delays, CNN said.
There were reported cases of biometric machines malfunctioning or failing to recognize voters' fingerprints in the pivotal presidential and parliamentary election, officials said.
In areas where voting was not affected, counting was under way. It was not immediately clear how many of the total 26,000 polling stations experienced glitches.
Citizens of the West African nation started voting Friday in a general election that pits the incumbent against the son of a former president in one of Africa's most stable democracies.
In addition to the presidential election, hundreds of candidates vied for 275 parliamentary seats.
Incumbent leader John Dramani Mahama, a former vice president who took over after his predecessor died this year, is one of eight contenders vying for the top position.