The main opposition candidate in Ghana's presidential election appeared increasingly confident of victory on Saturday as early provisional results put him well ahead of his closest rival.

John Kufuor clinched 55 of the 72 constituencies for which results had been declared after Thursday's general election. His main challenger, Vice President John Atta Mills, was ahead in 14 constituencies.

The Electoral Commission refused to give a running total but local media gave Kufuor 58 percent of the vote compared with 38 percent for Mills and just four percent for the remaining five presidential candidates.

``I want to thank my party for the way things have gone so far,'' Kufuor, who turned 63 on Friday, told local television TV 3.

``I also want to thank God, because Kufuor has not done all this alone.''

His New Patriotic Party (NPP) also led in the parliamentary vote, with several constituencies swinging away from the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The elections marked the end of 19 years in power for President Jerry Rawlings, the West African country's longest serving head of state since independence from Britain in 1957.

Rawlings, who seized power in a military coup but won multi- party elections in 1992 and 1996, could not stand for a third mandate because of a constitutional two-term limit. He is due to step down on January 7.

As the release of results from the country's 200 constituencies carried into a second day, analysts said that if the early trend was confirmed, Kufuor looked set for an outright victory.

``I can't see how Mills and the NDC could come back,'' said one Western diplomat.

A second round will be needed if no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote.

However, international electoral observers noted that only a handful of results had been declared for the Volta and Northern regions -- both NDC strongholds.

They said this was surprising given that in past elections those regions had been among the first to release their results.

Electoral Commission Chairman Kwadwo Afari-Gyan told Reuters results from the area had been delayed because of stringent verification and transport problems.

The commission has said it should be able to announce the final results within 72 hours of the vote.

Meanwhile, a dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed on the northern town of Bawku, near the border with Burkina Faso, after clashes between political rivals, state radio said.

The radio report said NPP and NDC rivals fought over ballot boxes which had apparently arrived to be counted unaccompanied by election officials. Extra security forces had been drafted in the region, the radio said.

Ghana News Agency said one person had been hit by a bullet during the clashes.