Ghana's president wins party's nomination for 2012: official

Ghana's President John Atta Mills was Saturday re-elected the ruling party's presidential candidate for next year's presidential election after winning 96.9 percent of the votes, officials said.

Atta Mills, beat his only rival in the party primary, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, the wife of ex-military leader Jerry Rawlings, who won only 3.1 percent of the votes cast, an official of Ghana's national electoral commission said.

Of the total 2,861 votes cast during the election, Atta Mills won 2,771 or 96.9 percent, while his rival won only 90 votes or 3.1 percent, said the official while announcing the results after ballots were collated.

Following his nomination, he will now face Nana Akufo Akufo Addo of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the December 2012 presidential election.

Atta Mills had in 2008 marginally beaten Addo.

Ghana's ruling party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), began an unprecedented presidential primary with the mother of four challenging the incumbent for the nomination.

In his speech after the results were announced Atta Mills said that with his victory, the battle for victory at the 2012 poll had just started.

"The battle for 2012 elections has just started. Let us work together and go in for victory," he said.

"The contest shows that there are issues to be addressed and they will be addressed. I congratulate Nana (Konadu Agyemang Rawlings) for putting up for the contest. It shows the level of democracy within the party and we shall move forward in unity," he added.

Ex-president Jerry Rawlings, accompanied by his wife, walked over to Atta Mills, held and raised up his hand and congratulated him, an AFP correspondent saw.

There was a wild jubilation within and outside the meeting venue immediately the result of the primary was announced.

Before the votes were cast, each of the contestants appealed to delegates to chose them as flagbearer of the party in next year's election.

"At night you don't light a candle to look at the face of someone you know at daytime... There is light at the end of the tunnel," Atta Mills said in his remarks.

"Be bold and show that you have the power to change the party for the better," Rawlings said, as she urged delegates to vote for change.

Addressing the opening of the convention earlier, NDC national chairman Kwabena Adjei called for party unity with a view to victory in polls next year.

"Today is for the NDC family ... we are highly optimistic that the outcome of today's congress will catapult the party to a better position to win the 2012 elections," Adjei told delegates.

The theme of the congress is "Unity in diversity for a better Ghana".

The party's convention and primary held in the city of Sunyani, more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) north of the capital Accra.

Ghana was the country chosen by Barack Obama for his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as US president in 2009.

While Ghana has been seen as a rare example of stable democracy in west Africa in recent years, Saturday's primary represents the first time in the country's history that a sitting president will compete for his own party's nomination.

Much will be at stake in the December 2012 presidential vote, with Ghana having recently joined the ranks of the world's large-scale oil producers and seeking to steadily increase output -- along with resulting revenue.

Atta Mills narrowly won the vote in 2008 with a less than one percent margin against a candidate from the party of incumbent John Kufuor, widely respected for having bowed out following his two terms in office.