Opposition supporters throng campaign rally in capital

Exuberant supporters of Ghana's main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) thronged a campaign rally in the capital Accra on Friday, six days ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections.

Tens of thousands of people, most wearing the party colors of red, white and blue -- one was draped in a US flag -- filled a park in the western Darkuman suburb, an NPP stronghold.

Singing and dancing, they kicked up red dust from the packed earth as they waited for the speeches to begin, some holding aloft wooden or stuffed toy elephants, the party symbol.

The NPP's Kwamena Bartels, the shadow housing minister, was delighted with the displays of enthusiasm, saying: "Everything's gone out of hand. We've lost control."

He added: "We haven't bused or paid anybody" to attend.

Bartels, wearing a red, white and blue striped daishiki and shouting over the boisterous NPP supporters, dismissed voter surveys predicting victory for frontrunner Vice President John Atta Mills of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).

"They have not reckoned for the massive change of attitudes, and that change of attitude has been brought about by the reality of the people. The NDC has no new ideas to solve the problems of Ghana," he said.

The west African country is facing an economic crisis brought about by falling prices for its two major foreign exchange earners, cocoa and gold, as well as a weakening currency and spiralling inflation.

At the approach of next Thursday's elections, the gap appears to be narrowing in the presidential race between Atta Mills, protege of President Jerry Rawlings, and his main challenger, the NPP's John Kufuor.

If neither wins more than 50 percent of the vote next Thursday, a runoff election must be held in three weeks.

Support for the NDC is thought to be eroding, largely because of Atta Mills' lack of charisma -- especially next to Rawlings, a cult figure here -- and a rising tide in favor of a third candidate, Goosie Tanoh of the National Reform Party (NRP).

The NRP is a breakaway formation of Rawlings' NDC, which he formed in 1992 to contest, and win, democratic elections after relinquishing his 11-year military leadership.

Rawlings himself initiated the constitution limiting the president's tenure to two four-year terms.

Outside the NPP rally venue Friday, the streets bustled with cars and open-backed trucks filled with supporters behaving as if victory was already in hand.

One driver thrilled his passengers by making their van lurch down the street, emulating an aggressive elephant -- an NPP slogan evokes the elephant's massive strength.

Bands of supporters dance-marched alongside, chanting in a call-and-response pattern: "What has this government given us? Shoeshine boys!"

Another refrain was "bottom row!" because the NPP is the last party listed on the ballot, the result of a lottery that put the NDC in the second row.

The run-up to the vote has become increasingly fraught by concerns over the potential for irregularities and election-related violence.

The army and police issued a joint statement on Thursday warning of possible mob violence before, during and after the vote and vowing to take necessary precautions.

So far, only sporadic clashes have erupted around the country, mainly between NDC and NPP supporters. In late October, an NDC supporter stabbed to death a backer of the minor People's National Convention party in the only known fatality to date.

Meanwhile, in Accra, there is little visual evidence of the impending elections.

Campaign workers have pasted small posters onto telephone poles and palm trees, and modest billboards are dotted around the city. Few show any signs of vandalism by opposing parties, even those just outside the NPP rally venue.