Ghanaians vote to choose president in close run-off
ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghanaians voted peacefully on Sunday in a deciding run-off to choose a president for Africa's newest emerging oil producer, in an election many hope can salvage the continent's battered democratic credentials.
Election officials said voting went ahead generally smoothly in the capital Accra and across the West African state, despite some minor hitches and disputes. Turnout by midday appeared to be lower than in the inconclusive December 7 first round.
"It has been generally peaceful," Director of Elections Albert Arhin told Reuters.
The presidential contest pits Nana Akufo-Addo, of the previously ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), against the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC)'s John Atta Mills, after neither managed an outright win on December 7.
Both are foreign-trained lawyers, both 64, and they have vowed to maintain the stability and growth which have made the cocoa and gold exporting former British Gold Coast colony a recent favourite of investors on a turbulent continent.
Ghana is already the world's No. 2 cocoa grower and the second largest gold producer in Africa, and is preparing to start commercial oil output in late 2010.
The Ghana ballot follows setbacks to constitutional democracy in Africa this year posed by flawed elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe and military coups in Mauritania and Guinea.
The presence of voters at polling stations, which were guarded by soldiers and police, appeared lighter than three weeks ago, which could prove decisive in the close-fought race.
"Don't forget today is Sunday and some people may be coming to vote after church," said Arhim. He added the simpler ballot choice, compared to the combined presidential and parliamentary polls on December 7, could also be making voting faster.
Some analysts say a turnout higher than the 70 percent recorded in the first round could favour the NPP's Akufo-Addo, while a lower turnout -- traditional in second rounds -- could boost the chances of the NDC's Mills.
EXTRA SECURITY
In Accra, Judith Asem, a 62-year-old retired public servant, brought a stool to sit on at the Kaneshie Zone Four polling station while she waited to vote.
"I have done my bit, but I want to ensure a brighter future for my grandchildren and my great grandchildren. I will be voting for change towards a better Ghana," she said.
Around 12.4 million of Ghana's population of 23 million are registered to vote for a successor to President John Kufuor, who is stepping down after two terms, the constitutional limit.
The authorities deployed extra troops and police to guarantee security.
As he cast his ballot, NDC candidate Mills said he had heard some reports of irregularities and of intimidation against NDC voters and he urged authorities to ensure the vote was fair. His rival, Akufo-Addo, called for a big turnout.
In the first round, Akufo-Addo finished with just over 49 percent, more than one percentage point ahead of Mills, but he failed to gain the more than 50 percent of votes needed to win.
Analysts see possible risks after Sunday's vote, which follows the NPP losing its majority in parliament in legislative elections on December 7.
"Either way, the next president of Ghana -- whether from the NPP or the NDC -- is likely to face a hostile and acrimonious parliament that his party won't be able to easily control," Sebastian Spio-Garbrah, Africa analyst of the Eurasia Group risk consultancy, wrote in a recent briefing note.