Ghana's opposition New Patriotic Party has accused the
governing party of fixing the result of Friday's
election.
The NPP said in a statement that the National Democratic
Congress conspired with Electoral Commission staff to boost its
tally across the country.
There has been no response from the NDC or the
commission.
Local media reported partial results showing NDC candidate
President John Mahama had a narrow lead over NPP rival Nana
Akufo-Addo.
Joy FM said Mr Mahama looked likely to gain more than 50% of
the vote, which would give him overall victory without needing a
run-off vote.
Ghana, one of the world's fastest growing economies, is
regarded as one of Africa's most stable democracies.
Mr Akufo-Addo lost the 2008 presidential poll by one
percentage point, but accepted the result.
'Systematic stealing'
However, his party said they had "enough concrete evidence"
to prove that he actually won this year's election."The ruling NDC
conspired with certain EC staff in constituencies across the
country to falsify the election results and thereby abuse the
mandate of the people of Ghana," the party said.
"It was this planned, systematic stealing of votes at the
collation level that was, thankfully, discovered in
time."
The party cited discrepancies between initial tally sheets
and the results reported in the media.
It said thousands of votes had been stolen from Mr Akufo-Addo
and added to Mr Mahama's tally.
The opposition demanded an inquiry before official results
are released.
Election commissioner Kwadwo Afari-Gyan told Reuters news
agency he was not yet aware of the NPP complaint.
The NDC has not yet responded to the
allegations.
Observers said Friday's vote, for a new president and
parliament, passed off in a largely peaceful manner.
Some glitches with a new finger-printing system meant that voting
continued into Saturday in some parts of the country.
The turnout was reported to be high, at roughly
80%.
As a top exporter of cocoa and gold, Ghana is one of the
world's fastest-growing economies.
In 2011 it saw economic growth of 14% and experts predict
growth of 8% for 2012 and in 2013.
