Kumasi, Dec. 15, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor, on Monday expressed disappointment at the high number of rejected ballots in the December 7 elections.

He said the thousands of ballot papers rejected could had determined the winner in the first round of the presidential election, and that would have saved the nation the cost to be incurred for the second round.

The Electoral Commission (EC) announced a total of 205,438 ballot papers, representing 2.5 percent of the total ballot cast, which were rejected in the December 7 polls.

Addressing a press conference in Kumasi, President Kufuor charged the EC and stakeholders to step up the education of the electorate on the voting process so that they could do the right thing in future for the benefit of the nation.

He commended Ghanaians for comportment during the first round polls, stressing that the discipline with which the electorate voted affirmed the fact that the Ghanaian voter had come of age in the democratic dispensation.

He hoped that all and sundry would further exhibit maturity in the second round for an incident-free election to project further the nation's image in the international circles. President Kufuor gave the assurance that the EC had prepared adequately for the second round.

On corruption, President Kufuor cautioned the public against unfounded allegations about public officials, saying much as government appreciated the crucial role of the media and the masses in curbing corruption, they should be careful that all allegations were substantiated with facts for prompt action.

Responding to a question on the decongestion exercise on the streets, the President appealed to the street traders, who were affected by the exercise, to exercise restraint and bear with the authorities because the exercise was both in their interest and that of the nation. He indicated that the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, had been tasked to give a human face to the exercise and that affected traders would be re-located.

On his relationship with former President Rawlings, President Kufuor admitted it was not perfect but added that efforts were being made to bring the two of them together to foster national social cohesion. He described as satisfactory the socio-economic gains chalked by the country under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and hoped Ghanaians would give the party the mandate to continue with the good works it had begun.