Ghana opposition ahead in early election returns

Ghanaian opposition supporters look on as preliminary results from Thursday's exit poll are posted by National Electoral Commission workers at Independence Square in Accra, Ghana on Friday

ACCRA, Ghana (Reuters) -- The main opposition candidate took an early lead on Friday in partial results from Ghana's presidential election to find a successor to Jerry Rawlings, who is stepping down after 19 years in power.

With over a third of results in, it was still not clear whether a second round would be needed, but analysts said that if early trends were confirmed, opposition contender John Kufuor might pick up the necessary majority in the first round.

Kufuor was confident, but stopped short of claiming victory.

"I want to congratulate party for the way things have gone so far, and for their support, and I also want to thank God because Kufuor has not done this alone," he told local TV3 television.

Kufuor, celebrating his 63rd birthday on Friday, led in 55 of the 72 constituencies for which the Electoral Commission declared provisional results after an overnight count of ballots from Thursday's presidential and parliamentary election.

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John Atta Mills of Rawlings' National Democratic Congress (NDC), was second in published results, leading in 14 constituencies, while minor candidates led in the remaining three. There are seven candidates running for president.

The commission gave no running total, but TV3's unofficial tally gave Kofuor 58 percent of votes so far, with Atta Mills taking 38 percent and minor candidates four percent.

No official turnout figure was available, but election observers put it at between 50 and 60 percent.

Kufuor's New Patriotic Party (NPP) also won the parliamentary vote in most constituencies where he led.

But with 200 constituencies in all, results were still due from many parts of the NDC strongholds in the Volta and Northern regions.

Electoral Commission Chairman Kwadwo Afari-Gyan told Reuters results from the area had been delayed because of stringent verification and transport problems.

Rawlings, who originally seized power in a coup and became the West African country's longest serving head of state since independence from Britain in 1957, was not permitted to run for a third term under the constitution.

State radio reported clashes in the northern town of Bawku, where NPP and NDC rivals fought over ballot boxes which had apparently arrived to be counted unaccompanied by election officials.

The Ghana News Agency reported that one person had been shot in the leg in Bawku. A dusk-to-dawn curfew had been imposed in the town and extra security forces deployed, state radio added.

But elsewhere the election passed off calmly, electoral observers said.

"Things seem to have gone pretty smoothly apart from minor hitches, like a few unsealed ballot boxes," said a U.S. observer at a polling station in the capital Accra.

"I think that was due more to disorganization and people not knowing what to do rather than foul play."

As he voted in Accra on Thursday, Rawlings, who seized power twice in three years but later won multi-party elections in 1992 and 1996, said he would respect the poll results as long as the election was "fair, genuine and sincere."

The electoral commission has said it should be able to announce final results within 72 hours of the vote.

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

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Ghana Elections 2000
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