Accra, Dec. 21, GNA - The run-off of the 2008 presidential election kicks off officially on Tuesday, December 23, with special voting by those who would be on duty on Sunday, December 28.

Those expected to vote early include members of the Ghana Armed Forces, Police, Prisons Service, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, Ghana National Fire Service, journalists, Electoral Commission (EC) officials and staff of essential services. Special polling stations have been mapped out by the EC for the exercise and voting starts at 0700 hours and ends 1700. Voters are going to the polls in the run-off because none of the eight candidates who contested the December 7 presidential election obtained more than 50 per cent of the votes to be declared an outright winner.

The run-off will be between Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NP) and Prof. John Evans Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission, announced that Nana Akufo-Addo had 4,159,439 votes representing 49.13 per cent while Prof. Atta Mills obtained 4,056,634, representing 47.92 per cent.