BRAZZAVILLE, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Voting ended peacefully at 6:00 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) on Sunday in the Republic of Congo, leaving the central African country's four million people waiting to see whether President Denis Sassou-Nguesso will secure re-election for another seven-year term or any of his 12 challengers can turn out to be a dark horse.

People line to cast their votes at a polling station in Brazzaville, capital of Republic of Congo, July 12, 2009. Voting started on Sunday morning in Republic of Congo's presidential election. Some 2 million voters are expected to the polling stations to elect a president for the next seven-year term. (Xinhua/Shu Shi) Photo Gallery>>>

    Voting stations opened at 7:00 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) in the morning. By 6:00 in the evening, stations in the country's capital Brazzaville generally closed peacefully, without any violence as some people had feared.

    A random check to four voting stations here showed that voter turnout ranged from some 50 percent to around 70 percent.

Republic of Congo's presidential candidate, incumbent President Denis Sassou-Nguesso casts his vote at the Marie de Quenze polling station in Brazzaville, capital of Republic of Congo, July 12, 2009.(Xinhua/Shu Shi) Photo Gallery>>>

    Mouambenga Marius, chief of the nation's election observers' organization, told Xinhua at the Marie de Quenze voting station that all work proceeded normally on the voting day. He said the election had been peaceful and orderly so far.

    On the streets of capital Brazzaville, a city of just over one million population, pedestrians or vehicles were rarely seen on the election day. At voting stations, people came in small groups to cast their ballots.

    "I'd like to thank all the people involved in organizing this election. People had feared there could be violence but I see the voting stations here are peaceful, I saw the policemen helping disabled people to come to vote," said Catherine Milandou, a voter.

An election official presents a voting certificate at a polling station in Brazzaville, capital of Republic of Congo, July 12, 2009.(Xinhua/Shu Shi) Photo Gallery>>>

    The voters are each given 13 ballots. They deliver one for their favored candidate and tear off the other 12 sheets. The election committee said there are over 5,000 voting stations nationwide set for the presidential race.

    Incumbent President Sassou came to the Marie de Quenze voting station at around 11:10 a.m. local time (1010 GMT) with his family to cast their ballots.

People wait at a polling station in Brazzaville, capital of Republic of Congo, July 12, 2009. (Xinhua/Shu Shi) Photo Gallery>>>

    Sassou is competing with 12 other candidates and is widely seen as in good position to win re-election. Also aspiring for the top job are six candidates from opposition parties and six independent candidates.

    The president-elect will be given a seven-year term. The election committee said the date for releasing voting results has not been specified but committee president Henri Bouka signalled on Saturday that it could be soon.

    The Republic of Congo is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda and the Gulf of Guinea.

    The country is rich in petroleum and forestry resources and these two sectors are key contributors to its economy.

    The republic is a former French colony and now has a population of some 4 million. French is the official language while a number of local languages are also used.

    The capital city Brazzaville is located on the Congo River, in the south of the country, immediately across from Kinshasa, the capital of neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.