A tight race is predicted between President John Mahama and opposition leader, Nana Akuffo-Addo.

Ghanaians go to the polls today December 7, 2012 to elect parliamentarians and a president to oversee the affairs of the country for a four-year term beginning January 7, 2013, The Will newspaper of Nigeria reported. A total of 14 million eligible voters expect that today’s polls will confirm their country’s widely acclaimed status as a beacon of democracy and stability on the continent.

It is the sixth time Ghanaians are voting since the return of democracy in 1992 under the rule of Jerry John Rawlings, following his decade-long military reign. The presidential candidates are President John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo of the biggest opposition party, the New Patriotic Party, NPP and Abu Forster Sakara of the Convention Peoples’ Party, CPP. John Dramani Mahama, 54, took over as President last July after the death of John Atta Mills; while Nana Akuffo-Addo, 68, is the son of a former Chief Justice of Ghana and President, Edward Akufo-Addo.

Other candidates are Hassan Ayariga of the Peoples’ National Convention, PNC, Paa Kwesi Nduom (Progressive Peoples’ Party, PPP), Henry Lartey (Great Consolidated Peoples’ Party, GCPP) and an independent, Kwesi Addae. Latest opinion polls suggest a tight race between John Mahama and Nana Akuffo-Addo. For the first time, three presidential candidates – of the CPP, PPP and PNC - have chosen female running mates. The NDC and NPP currently control 228 seats in the current 230 seat Parliament with the CPP and PNC taking the remaining two seats. Previous elections have twice seen incumbent administrations losing to the opposition. The first was the NDC losing to the opposition NPP in 2000 and the NPP losing to the current NDC administration in 2008.

Also in today’s election, 1,332 candidates - including 126 independents – will contest seats in the unicameral Parliament. According to the Electoral Commission, voters will exercise their franchise in 26,000 polling stations nationwide as the biometric register is used for the first time in the country. Election officials are expected to release results probably on Sunday December 9, 2012.

Since the end of decades of military rule in 1992, Ghana has won praise as a model democracy. It also has Africa's fastest growing economy, thanks to its recently tapped oil reserves. The President is elected for a four-year term using a two-round system. A run-off will be held on December 28, 2012 if no candidate wins more than 50 per cent of the vote.