FREETOWN, March 7 (Xinhua) -- More than 3.1 million registered voters in Sierra Leone on Wednesday go to over 11,000 polling stations across the country to elect a new president.

The general elections started at 7 am Wednesday. Sixteen registered political parties including the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) and the main opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) participated in the elections.

This is the fourth elections the country has conducted since the eleven-year rebel war that ravaged the country.

President Ernest Bai Koroma has concluded his second consecutive term and his former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samura Kamara would contest against fifteen others including Julius Maada Bio of the SLPP.

The election would close at 5 pm local time and counting would start after the polls with the official results expected in one week.

Apart from the President, voters would cast their ballots for 132 Members of Parliament and 19 councils across the country.