Ghana's general elections were proceeding steadily without any major hitch except for reports of delays in the arrival of election materials in early hours at some polling centers.

The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), a local independent election observer group, Friday said Ghana's polls had generally been smooth, five hours after the commencement of the exercise.

Speaking via phone to Xinhua, Coordinator for CODEO, John Larvie, said reports monitored by his outfit across the country indicated delays in the arrival of election materials to the polling stations.

"We have drawn the attention of the Electoral Commission (EC) to the situation and we are waiting to see how they deal with it; apart from that, the process has been smooth so far," Larvie said.

He was optimistic the country's electoral body would address the challenge as early as possible.

Ghanaian Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur Bekoe has called on prospective voters to bear with the country's Electoral Commission (EC) as it resolves challenges in Friday's polls before voting ends.

"I think the country is behaving well generally. The EC has done a fantastic job and I call on people to bear with them as they sort things out," he said.

He emphasized that the outcome of the election was a foregone conclusion and was only waiting for the EC to announce the verdict after the polls.

A total of 14.4 million eligible voters are expected to cast their ballot to choose a president among eight Party's presidential candidates and 275-members parliament from 14 registered political parties' 1,332 candidates.

The 2012 presidential and parliamentary election becomes the sixth one to have being organized in the country since the country opted for multi-party democracy in 1992.

The ruling National Democratic Congress' John Mahama and Akufo- Addo from the main opposition New Patriotic Party are the two major competitors in the running-up to the presidency.