Ghana faces second round of presidential race

The national Electoral Commission in Ghana Sunday announced that the presidential contest would go to a second round.

Election officials said the second round had been called after neither of the two presidential candidates --- opposition leader John Kufuor of the National Patriotic Party and incumbent Vice President John Atta Mills --- managed to secure an outright victory.

With more than 6.4 million votes counted, frontrunner Kufuor had 48 percent of the vote, beating incumbent Vice President John Atta Mills of the ruling National Democratic Congress, but failed to win an outright majority.

Despite vigorous campaigning on his behalf by outgoing President Jerry Rawlings, Mills was unable to take the lead in Thursday's vote, only the third multi-party elections in the country for 40 years.

Under the constitution, the second round of voting must be held within 21 days if either candidate fails to secure a clear victory. Results from the parliamentary elections indicate that the opposition has won a parliamentary majority. With votes declared in all but one of the 200 constituencies, the National Patriotic Party has won 100 seats, beating the ruling National Democratic Congress, which has won 91 seats.

Some instances of election violence were reported between supporters of the two rival parties and an overnight curfew was imposed in the northern town of Bawku. At least seven people were killed and a several homes and buildings set ablaze.