31 Dec 2008

Cliffhanger in Ghana election

9:10 am on 31 December 2008

The electoral commission in Ghana says the outcome of a presidential run-off election is too close to call.

It will be decided by voting on Friday in a single constituency where balloting has yet to take place.

The commission said on Tuesday the vote in the Tain constituency would determine the final result of the election.

With votes counted from 229 of the 230 constituencies, John Atta Mills, 64, of the opposition National Democratic Congress has 50.13% of the votes. Nana Akufo-Addo, 64, of the New Patriotic Party has 49.87%.

Only 23,050 votes separate the two. Both men are foreign-trained lawyers.

Tain has around 53,000 registered electors. Voting there did not take place on Sunday.

The NDC won Tain with a majority of around 2,000 votes in the first round of the election on 7 December.

Observers from the European Union, the Carter Centre and West Africa say the run-off vote has been generally orderly and transparent.