Counting of ballots in Liberia, after the west African country's first post-war polls will take three to seven days, electoral officials said on Wednesday.

In electoral districts where the counting has been completed, tallying process has begun and data will be entered both manually and electronically, Frances Johnson-Morris, chairman of the National Elections Commission (NEC) told a press conference.

"Once the results are finalized at the county, a copy of the declaration of preliminary results will also be posted for public viewing," she said. "The signed declaration will be sent to the national tally center to create a national total."

For the inaccessible areas, mainly in the northwest and southeast where heavy rains have cut off roads, helicopters are being used to retrieve ballot materials, Johnson-Morris said.

While the results from the 3,070 polling stations are being compiled, the commission will not announce the outcome for each individual polling place, she said. But rather, the figures will be posted publicly at a given place once the counting is completed.

Johnson-Morris also said the commission will hold regular press conference to present on the preliminary results. Official results are expected within 15 days from the elections' date.

Large numbers of Liberians, walking through muddy roads and braving hot sun, went to polling stations on Tuesday to pick a president and legislators in hopes that fresh leadership would restore peace and jump-start development in a country rich in diamond, gold, timber, iron ore and rubber as well as fertile soil. HISTORICAL VOTE

UN special envoy Alan Doss hailed the elections as "complete absence of violence" and said he was "struck by the patience, the determination, and the friendliness" displayed by all the voters.

Football star George Weah, former World Bank economist Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf are considered the two front-runners in a field of 22 presidential candidates and are running neck and neck. They may have to enter the second round in early November since the winner must secure 50 percent plus one vote in the first round, analysts predict.

A total of 94 legislators from among 718 legislative candidates will also be chosen during the elections, the first since the end of Liberia's brutal civil war starting from 1989 that killed about 250,000 people, eight percent of its population.

Founded in 1847 by freed slaves from the United States, Liberia is one of the world's poorest nations today. Its 3 million people can expect to live an average 47.7 years and survive on average 150 US dollars per year. About 80 percent of Liberia's population is still illiterate and a similar percentage unemployed.

Source: Xinhua