Ghana held its hardest-fought presidential race since independence on Sunday, hoping a peaceful transition to a new leader will herald Africa’s return to the path of democracy after recent explosions of election violence in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nigeria.

A talisman for African aspirations since it became the continent’s first colony to declare an end to colonial rule in 1957, Ghana is facing the toughest test of its stability in the contest to replace John Kufuor, the outgoing president.