Election 2008 kicks off on Tuesday with Special Votin

Election 2008 kicks off officially on Tuesday, December 2, with special voting by those who would be on duty on Election Day, Sunday, December 7.

Those expected to cast the early votes include members of the Armed Forces, Police, Prisons, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, Ghana National Fire Service, Journalists, Electoral Commission (EC) officials and staff of essential services.

Special polling stations had been mapped out by the EC for the exercise and voting starts at 0700 hours and ends 1700.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Monday, Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, Director of Elections, said the commission was ready to kick-off Election 2008 with the special voting on Tuesday.

“All logistics and personnel are ready to ensure a smooth start of the election,” he said, and appealed to the public to adhere to all electoral rules and regulations.

He said after the Special Voting, the ballot boxes, which would be sealed before voting starts, would not be opened. They would be transported to safe places for storage and opened only after the general population voted on Sunday, December 7.

Seven political parties and an independent candidate are contesting for the single presidential slot, whilst about 1,062 parliamentary candidates are contesting for the 230 seats in parliament.

The presidential candidates and how they would be on the ballot paper are as follows, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (New Patriotic Party); Dr Edward Nasigrie Mahama (People's National Convention) and Professor John Evans Atta Mills (National Democratic Congress).

Mr Emmanuel Ansah Antwi of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) is fourth on the list, Mr Thomas Ward-Brew of the Democratic People's Party, fifth, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom of the Convention People's, sixth, Mr Kwamena Adjei of the Reformed Patriotic Democrats, seventh, while Mr Kwesi Amoafo-Yeboah, the independent candidate, is the eighth.

According to the EC the positions will be the same for parliamentary candidates, with independent candidates coming after candidates of the political parties in alphabetical order.

The vote would elect the successor of President John Agyekum Kufuor, who ends his second four-year term on January 6.