Accra, Dec. 7, GNA - Polling in Ghana's fifth consecutive election dubbed Election 2008, started throughout the country at 0700 hours on Sunday with long queues of electorates waiting patiently to cast their votes at polling stations long before the polls opened. Polling continues until 1700 hours unless they are extended because of technical reasons. The first results are expected late on Sunday night or early on Monday morning. The Electoral Commission expects all results to be declared within 72 hours.

Election 2008 considered as historic would witness the second uninterrupted handover of power by an elected leader to another elected leader in the country's 51-year political history.

It is the fifth successive multi-party elections under the Fourth Republic. Former President Jerry Rawlings, who transformed himself from a military leader into a democratically elected president in 1992 on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), served his full two terms. His term of office ended on January 6, 2001.

President John Agyekum Kufuor, who won the presidency on the ticket of the New patriotic Party (NPP), would be the second Ghanaian elected leader to hand over to another elected leader.

At stake in the polls are the presidential seat and 230 parliamentary seats. Seven political parties and an independent candidate are contesting for the single presidential slot whilst a total of 1,060 parliamentary candidates are slugging it out for seats in the 230 seats in Parliament.

Statistics from the EC Research and Monitoring Department made available to the Ghana News Agency in Accra indicate that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) are contesting in 229 Constituencies. The NPP is contesting for 21 out of the 22 constituencies in the Western Region whiles the NDC is contesting 38 out of 39 constituencies in the Ashanti Region.

The Convention People's Party (CPP) is contesting in 206 constituencies; People's National Convention (PNC) 129; Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) 108; Democratic People's Party (DPP) 49; Reformed Patriotic Democrats (RPD) 10; and New Vision Party (NVP) four. The rest are: Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) two seats; Ghana National Party (GNP) one seat and 95 independent candidates. Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), told Ghana News Agency that the voting procedures remain the same. "The voting pattern is transparent and at each point of the voting process there is an identifiable glaring system, which would make it impossible for any one to cheat.

"The result of any polling station where the number of votes cast would exceed the number of registered voters would be cancelled." Dr Afari-Gyan urged Ghanaians, especially political party representatives, to avoid making wild allegations about imagined electoral fraud and suspicions because one would not get things done in their favour.

He said voting ends official at 1700 hours and the entire process would take place in the open view of the public. The EC Chairman said Presiding Officers in-charge of polling stations would inspect the ballot papers in the presence of the agents, enter the total number, show the ballot boxes to the public to ascertain that they were empty and then place them in the open for voting. Dr Afari-Gyan reiterated that accredited local and international observers, journalists, national and regional executive members of contesting political parties, security personnel, contesting candidates and spouses and monitors are permitted to visit the polling stations. He advised all accredited officials to wear their prescribed identification tag - exhibiting their photograph, name, organisation and mandate.