Ghana's 'gentle giant' re-elected

Ghanaian President John Kufuor has secured a second four-year term, the
election commission chairman says.
Mr Kufuor, known as the "gentle giant", won 52.75% of the vote in Tuesday's
presidential poll, sparking street parties in the capital, Accra.

His main rival, opposition leader John Atta Mills, gained 44.32% of the
vote.

Observers have praised the conduct of the election, which attracted a high
turnout of 83.2%, however, the opposition has lodged complaints.

Results from five districts are still expected, but they will not change
the overall outcome, Election Commission chairman Kwadwo Afari-Djan said.

"I declare President Kufuor new president of the Ghana republic," he said.

'Work harder'

The BBC's Kwaku Sakyi-Addo in Accra says that thousands of people poured
onto the streets to celebrate Mr Kufuor's re-election, wearing the colours
of his party and shouting his name.


 OFFICIAL RESULTS
Presidential poll:
John Kufuor: 52.75%
John Atta Mills: 44.32%
Edward Mahama: 1.9%
George Aggudey: 1%


The president's press secretary Kwabena Agyepong told the BBC that he had
expected a bigger margin of victory and he would use his second term to try
and improve living standards for Ghana's poor.
"We need to work much harder to bring the fruits of economic progress to
the people of Ghana," he said.

Several ruling party ministers are thought to have lost their seats in the
parliamentary poll, which was held at the same time as the presidential
contest.

Final results have not yet been declared but Mr Kufuor's New Patriotic
Party seems to be heading for a majority, with between 120 and 130 MPs in
the 230-seat parliament, our correspondent says.


Mr Atta Mills' National Democratic Congress (NDC) is set for 95-100 seats.

The NDC has complained about the high number of spoilt and rejected ballot
papers - 2% - and has alleged that in Mr Kufuor's stronghold of the central
Ashanti region, the number of votes cast was higher than the number of
registered voters.

However, the electoral commission has rejected both complaints.

Peaceful poll

Mr Kufuor defeated Mr Atta Mills four years ago, in an election that marked
the country's first peaceful and democratic transfer of power since
independence from Britain in 1957.

The presidential election is the fourth since Ghana became a multi-party
state in 1992.


The two other presidential candidates got less than 2% of votes cast.
Edward Mahama, candidate of the Grand Coalition of opposition parties,
polled 1.9% and George Aggudey, of the Convention People's Party founded by
Ghana's first leader Kwame Nkrumah, received 1%.

The BBC's Andrew Simmons in Accra says Mr Kufuor's supporters voted for
stability, even though daily costs such as school fees, petrol prices and
consumer goods are making their lives difficult.

The president has drastically reduced inflation and borrowing costs, and
assured people during the campaign that prices and wages would improve.

Mr Mills focused on the major issue of poverty.

He assured poor people, who make up 40% of the country's 20 million
population, that under his rule they would see more money in their pockets.

But the BBC's reporter says it appears that his tactics have failed to
undermine Mr Kufuor's economic reforms.

The majority of people trust him, our reporter says, although in the longer
term they will want to see some personal gain in return.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4077835.stm

Published: 2004/12/10 10:10:48 GMT

いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい