"The Secretary-General calls on all political actors and their supporters to exercise patience while the ballots are being counted,” said Ban's spokesman in a statement.

The Secretary-General welcomed the commitment of all presidential candidates to maintain peace as demonstrated by their signing of a Peace Accord on 1 December, and urged that any disputes be resolved peacefully through established legal channels, the spokesman said, noting that in Ghana as elsewhere, the most important aspects of elections are that the genuine will of the people be reflected in the final results, and that those results be respected.

UN Photo/Mark Garten (file)