Accra - Ghana President John Kufuor, nicknamed the "gentle giant" has been comfortably re-elected thanks to a revving economy and hopes of an enduring democracy after decades of authoritarian rule under Jerry Rawlings.

The Oxford-educated lawyer, who came to power in 2000, won re-election on Tuesday in a first-round vote on the eve of his 66th birthday.

According to results announced on Thursday from 225 of the 230 constituencies in the west African country, Kufuor secured 52.75% of the ballots ahead of his main opponent John Atta Mills, with 44.32%, eliminating the need for a second-round vote.

The affable "gentle giant" Kufuor has moved easily within the circles of international African diplomacy since his first appointment in 1969 as deputy minister of foreign affairs.

Raised his profile

Since taking office, he has raised his profile considerably, extending his tenure as head of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) to a second one-year term and playing a key role in mediating the various crises that have strafed the volatile region from Sierra Leone to Ivory Coast.

He has devoted so much time to his international obligations that many at home have criticised him for neglecting the domestic problems that keep about 40% of the country's 20 million people in poverty, surviving on less than one dollar per day.

Stung by the criticism, Kufuor cleared his calendar to focus on campaigning, taking only a short break from the trail for a quick meeting in Nigeria in early November to try and resolve the latest chapter of unrest in Ivory Coast.

"We are doing right by Ghana and we will win with a huge majority," Kufuor said at a rally on Sunday.

His party also spent an unprecedented amount of money on the campaign, with advertising banners, flags and television spots worth an estimated 2.5 million dollars, according to elections analyst Kwamena Kum.

A member of the powerful Ashanti ethnic group, whose chiefdom stretches across the fertile centre of Ghana, Kufuor has put into place favourable economic policies that have helped the country post five percent growth a year and cut inflation, currying favor with international lenders.

Second coup

Exports of cocoa have reached a record 700 000 tonnes thanks in part to better than average rains as well as a pesticide spraying programme implemented by the government and a progressive increase in the price paid to farmers for their crops.

Rawlings, 55, seized power in June 1979 only to hand the reins to an elected civilian government four months later. A second coup on December 31 1981, ushered the former flight lieutenant to the presidency he held with an iron fist until 2000, when he was constitutionally obliged to step down.

Both of his military regimes are accused of having tortured, tried and executed their opponents. -