Sierra Leone ? Ballot-counting was under way Sunday in Sierra Leone’s first presidential election since U.N. peacekeepers withdrew two years ago – a vote seen as a test of the country’s transition to democratic rule.

Many Sierra Leoneans see the poll as a chance to show that they have finally emerged from a legacy of coups and a decade-long, diamond-fueled war as a multiparty state that can transfer power peacefully.

Seven candidates are vying to succeed President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. Term limits prevent the 75-year-old leader from running for a third five-year term.

The head of Sierra Leone’s electoral commission, Christina Thorpe, said voting finished on time and without incident Saturday at most polling centers, despite rain and long lines.