BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Voters in Ghana have been lining up as early as 2 am to select their next president and parliament. It’s expected to mark the West African nation’s 6th free and fair election.

Ghana was once a troubled country that suffered five coups and decades of economic stagnation. But it’s now a pace-setter in the continent’s democratic movement. It also had one of the fastest growing economies in the world in 2011.

8 candidates are running for president. The contest is considered a two-horse race between the National Democratic Congress party’s incumbent president John Dramani Mahama and the New Patriotic Party’s Nana Akufo-Addo. Many voters now expect faster improvement in their daily lives. But they seem almost evenly split over which candidate can best deliver on the promise of development.

(Source: CNTV.cn)