Over 10 million Ghanaians to vote in Election 2004

Accra, Dec. 3, GNA- An estimated 10,288,382 registered voters out of a population of 18.9 million Ghanaians are expected to cast their ballots in the general elections on Tuesday, December 7 to elect a President and 230 lawmakers.

There are 954 candidates contesting the 230 parliamentary seats while four Presidential candidates representing the People's National Convention (PNC), New Patriotic Party (NPP), National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Convention People's Party (CPP) are contesting the presidential slot.

Statistics made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) by the Electoral Commission (EC) indicate that 1,007,348 voters registered in the Western Region. There are 85 candidates contesting the 22 parliamentary seats.

The Central Region registered 857,067 voters with 19 parliamentary seats being contested by 77 candidates.

The Greater Accra has 2,092,915 voters with 27 parliamentary seats being contested by 125 persons.

The Volta Region has 819,175 voters to decide on 93 contestants in 22 constituencies.

The rest are Eastern Region 1,087,648 voters with 117 candidates vying for 28 parliamentary seats; Ashanti Region 1,891,958 voters to select 39 MPs out of 158 contestants and the Brong Ahafo Region 938,066 voters with 94 candidates contesting 24 seats.

The Northern Region has 892,616 voters with 106 aspiring parliamentary candidates vying for 26 seats; Upper East 425,442 voters to select 13 MPs out of 59 candidates and the Upper West Region 276,147 voters to decide on 10 MPs out of 40 candidates.

The statistics show that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is contesting in 226 constituencies while the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is contesting 229 seats.

The Convention People's Party (CPP) is contesting 173 seats, the People's National Convention (PNC) 125 seats, Democratic People's Party (DPP) and the Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere (EGLE) 30 seats each, the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) 10 seats and the National Reform Party (NRP) five seats.

In 2000 Election, the PNC contested 155 seats, NPP, 199 seats, NDC, 200, CPP, 188, GCPP, three, EGLE, one, UGM, 104, NRP, 173 and Independent candidates, 63 seats.

The regional statistics for Election 2004 indicate that PNC is contesting 11 out of the 22 constituencies in the Western Region; eight out of 19 in the Central Region; 14 out of 27 in the Greater Accra Region; 13 out of 22 in the Volta Region and 13 out of 28 in the Eastern Region.

The rest are 20 out of the 39 in the Ashanti Region; six out of 24 in the Brong Ahafo Region; 19 out of 26 in the Northern Region; 11 out of 13 in the Upper East Region and in all the 10 seats in the Upper West Region.

The NPP is contesting 20 seats in the Western Region; 18 in the Central Region; 27 in the Greater Accra Region; 22 in the Volta Region; 28 in the Eastern Region; 39 in the Ashanti Region; 24 in the Brong Ahafo Region; 26 in the Northern Region; 13 in the Upper East and nine in the Upper West Region.

The NDC is contesting 22 in the Western Region; 19 in the Central Region; 27 in the Greater Accra Region; 22 in the Volta Region; 28 in the Eastern Region; 39 in the Ashanti Region; 23 in the Brong Ahafo Region; 26 in the Northern Region; 13 in the Upper East Region and 10 in the Upper West Region.

The CPP's statistics are as follows: Western 15 seats; Central 15; Greater Accra 25; Volta 13; Eastern 22; Ashanti 33; Brong Ahafo 16; Northern 17; Upper East 12 and Upper West five.

EGLE: Western one seat; Central one; Greater Accra two; Volta eight; Eastern 10; Ashanti three; Brong Ahafo three; Northern two; Upper East nil and Upper West nil.

GCPP: Western two seats; Central three; Greater Accra two; Volta one; Eastern one and Ashanti one. The Party is not contesting in the Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.

The DPP: Western one seat; Central one; Greater Accra five; Ashanti four; Brong Ahafo 10; Northern five; Upper East two and Upper West two. The DPP is not contesting any of the seats in Volta and Eastern Regions. The NRP is contesting one seat each in the Western, Central and Volta Regions and two seats in the Greater Accra Region.

There are 12 independent candidates contesting seats in the Western Region; 10 in the Central Region; 21 in the Greater Accra Region; 14 each in the Volta and Eastern Regions; 19 in the Ashanti Region; 12 in the Brong Ahafo Region; 11 in the Northern Region; eight in the Upper East Region and four in the Upper West Region.