Ruling Party Losing Parliament Majority

Ghana’s main opposition New Patriotic Party, or NPP, stripped the ruling party of its majority in parliament in national elections and led in first-round presidential balloting, provisional results showed. Results released by the Electoral Commission for Thursday’s presidential election from all but one constituency gave NPP hopeful John Agyekum Kufuor 48.44% of the vote against 44.80% for Vice President John Atta Mills. A runoff is likely. In the parliamentary poll, the results gave Kufuor’s party 97 of parliament’s 200 seats to 90 for the National Democratic Congress of President Jerry J. Rawlings, who is stepping down after 19 years in power.