Ghana presidential elections go to run-off.

The next president of Ghana will be decided in a run-off vote after the first round of polling on 7 December failed to result in a clear winner. The run-off has been scheduled for 28 December and the winner will be sworn in on 7 January.

The results of the first round of voting for the new president, released on 10 December, put the candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Akufo-Addo slightly in the lead with 4,159,439 votes or 49.13 per cent, just short of the 50 per cent plus one vote needed to win the elections on the first round.

John Atta Mills, the candidate of the main opposition party National Democratic Congress (NDC), took 4,056,634 votes or 47.92 per cent, while the six remaining candidates together polled less than three per cent.

The results of the parallel parliamentary elections have not been announced although partial official results show that NPP, which had a clear majority in the previous parliament, has lost several seats to the opposition, raising the possibility of different parties controlling the executive and legislature.

According to the electoral commission of Ghana 8,671,272 people, or 69.52 per cent of registered voters, turned out to vote, in what local and international observers have hailed as a shining example of democracy at work in Africa. Of the ballots cast, over 200,000, or 2.4 per cent, were rejected.