Sierra Leoneans streamed to the polls on Saturday in the first national elections held under the auspices of country's own authorities since its devastating civil war of the 1990s. News agencies reported a generally peaceful atmosphere, although delays in opening polling stations caused some disruptions.

Miatta French, a spokesperson of the National Electoral Commission, told Agence France Presse that the delays were a result of some areas not being safe enough in which to store ballots overnight on Friday. Voting materials were delivered early on Saturday.

AFP reported that voters began queuing before dawn outside some of the country's more than 6,000 polling stations. As rain cleared overnight in Freetown, the capital, hundreds of people stood in lines which snaked around city blocks at several polling stations, according to Reuters.

Vice President Solomon Berewa, the presidential candidate of the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party, reportedly turned back from a polling station after impatient crowds wanting to vote blocked the entrance. He was scheduled to return to vote later.

More than two million Sierra Leoneans are eligible to vote. The last national elections in 2002 were held under the protection of United Nations peacekeepers. Today's elections have been organized by a National Electoral Commission which has so far established a reputation for independence.