Poll Setback for Ghana Ruling Party

Ghana's main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) stripped the ruling party of its majority in parliament in national elections and leads in a run-off for the presidency, provisional results showed on Sunday.

Results released by the Electoral Commission for Thursday's presidential election from all but one constituency gave NPP hopeful John Kufuor 48.44 percent of the vote against 44.80 percent for Vice-President John Atta Mills.

In the parliamentary poll, the results gave Kufuor's party 97 of parliament's 200 seats against 90 for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of President Jerry Rawlings, who is stepping down after 19 years in power. Other parties hold seven.

``We have broken the myth of invincibility with which the NDC had surrounded itself,'' Kufuor told a news conference, adding that his party had won six of the West African country's 10 regions. ``We have demonstrated that the NDC can be beaten.''

Mills has the backing of Rawlings, who seized power in a military coup but won multi-party elections in 1992 and 1996. He is due to step down on January 7 under a constitutional two-term limit. He has pledged to respect the poll result.

In the presidential poll, the remaining votes were split between five other candidates, some of whom rallied to Kufuor.

Results from the constituency of Bawku Central, representing less than one percent of the total vote, were delayed because of violent clashes between two ethnic groups in which at least seven people died.

``It appears that irrespective of what happens in Bawku Central, we are headed for a second round,'' Electoral Commission Chairman Kwadwo Afari-Gyan told reporters.

Rival Officials Confident Of Victory

The run-off will be held within 21 days of the declaration of the final result, which was expected on Monday.

In the previous parliamentary election the NPP won 61 seats and Rawlings' party 130.

Rival party officials were confident of victory in the second round of the presidential poll in the former British colony and vowed to rally minor parties behind them.

But NDC leaders could not mask their disappointment and stressed the need for the party to renew itself, suggesting a shake-up might come sooner rather than later.

``I am quite surprised. We must go back to the drawing board and review the situation,'' said NDC Secretary-General Alhaji Huudu Yahaya.

His NPP counterpart, Daniel Botwe, claimed a moral victory.

``We won this election. We have a lead of 240,000 votes. What is left is a constitutional barrier,'' he said.

Turnout on Thursday was just over 60 percent.

The breakdown of votes showed a country split in two, with the Volta river serving as a political and ethnic divide.

The NDC dominated in the north and east of the country, winning a massive 88.8 percent in the Volta region, its traditional stronghold.

Election observers said the late release of results from those regions allowed Mills to close the gap on Kufuor.

The NPP controlled the south and the west, taking two thirds of the votes in its stronghold in the Ashanti region.

Several incumbent ministers, including the interior minister, lost their seats to NPP rivals.