Polling wound down peacefully in Guinea on Sunday in a landmark election offering voters their first chance to freely choose a leader since the coup-prone West African state won independence from France in 1958.

The United States hailed the poll's conduct and observers said turnout was high in a vote which could help trigger more investment in Guinea's vast mineral resources, unlock more aid to combat poverty and serve as a boost to pro-democracy camps across a region known for coups and tainted votes.

"Voting is peaceful, orderly and there is a sense of excitement," Yakubu Gowon, the former Nigerian leader heading the observation mission of U.S.-based rights group the Carter Center, told reporters, estimating turnout at 75-80 percent.

No clear winner
Only last September an army crackdown on pro-democracy marchers resulted in more than 150 deaths and took Guinea close to civil war. Weeks later, junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara was wounded in an assassination attempt and his Western-backed successor pledged to hand back rule to civilians.

With 24 candidates in the running, Sunday's vote is unlikely to produce a clear winner. Results are expected by Wednesday, after which the front runners are seen forming alliances in a bid to win voters for a July 18 run-off.

Authorities extended voting for two hours to 8 p.m. (2000 GMT). Long queues had formed earlier in the day, but Reuters witnesses who toured polling stations in Conakry said most of the lines had died down by early evening.

Just a first step
"The future president must form a government that unites the candidates," student Diallo Mamadou Yaya, 23, said of the tough task ahead for the victor, who is seen having to offer government posts to rivals to build a strong administration.

Guinea is the world's top exporter of the aluminium ore bauxite, and multinational mining companies are wrestling over its lucrative iron ore resources, yet a third of the population of 10 million live in poverty. Whoever becomes president will have a tough job transforming the country.

Outside the capital, Guineans also turned out in numbers.

"Everything is going well, but there are lots of people here and voting isn't happening quickly," said Mohamed Kouyate in Nzerekore, a southeastern town 500 km (310 miles) from Conakry.

Some analysts had worried Nzerekore, a Camara stronghold, would be a flashpoint, but no violent incidents were reported.

Source: Reuters