Ghana opposition grudgingly accepts court election ruling

ACCRA, Ghana (Reuters) -- Ghana's main opposition parties slammed a controversial court ruling on voters' identification papers Tuesday but made clear they would not boycott this week's presidential and parliamentary elections.

Accusing the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of trying to cheat, they vowed to be extra vigilant to prevent any possible irregularity in Thursday's general election.

The election heralds the end of 19 years in power for President Jerry Rawlings, who has to stand down because of a two-term constitutional limit.

His vice president, John Atta Mills, is running for the NDC and winding up his campaign with a rally in the capital Accra Tuesday.

In a joint statement the opposition parties said a supreme court decision allowing voters to take part with thumb-printed identity cards overlooked "the express purpose of cleansing the bloated electoral register of fraudulent and ghost voters."

"This time round the dirty tricks will not help them (the NDC). Our eyes are open, and we shall catch and expose them," said the statement, which was signed by four opposition parties including the biggest, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

John Kufuor, the NPP presidential hopeful, said he was not happy with the ruling but had to accept it.

"It opens the door to abuse, but a boycott (by the opposition) is out of the question," he said.

The supreme court ruling, announced late Monday, overturned an earlier decision by the West African country's Electoral Commission that only specially issued photo identity cards would be considered valid.

The commission, along with international electoral observers, says thumb-printed cards open the door for possible fraud because they are easier to manipulate than photo-bearing cards.

Election observers also agree with the commission in believing that the official list of 10.7 million registered voters is bloated by some 1.5 million names.

"If you look at the latest demographic census, there is no way you get anywhere near 10.7 million voters," a European electoral observer, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

The NDC favors the use of thumb-printed cards, saying 2.5 million voters would run the risk of being disenfranchised without them.

On Monday, police used tear gas to disperse NPP activists demonstrating outside the court.

The police said one bystander who was caught in the clashes was seriously injured in the head, but denied claims by the protesters that he had been wounded by a rubber bullet fired by the police.

Kufuor has been buoyed by a recent poll giving him a lead of 10 percentage points over Mills, but most analysts predict that no candidate will get more than 50 percent of the vote and the contest will go to a runoff.

Meanwhile, 200 polling stations opened Tuesday to allow police officers, soldiers and other officials who will be on duty on election day to vote in advance.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Ghana braces for life after Rawlings
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Ghana Elections 2000
Ghana government

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