Ghana to swear in new president as Rawlings steps down

Ghana will inaugurate a new democratically elected president on Sunday as the charismatic Jerry Rawlings steps down after ruling the country for nearly two decades.

The former flight lieutenant who seized power in a coup in 1981 then legitimized his rule through the ballot box in 1992 and 1996, will hand over power to John Kufuor, the opposition leader who won in elections last month.

The handover will be the first transfer of power from one elected leader to another in Ghana's 43-year history, a landmark event that has drawn praise from around the world.

Kufuor, head of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), defeated Rawlings' handpicked successor, the incumbent Vice President John Atta Mills, by a comfortable margin in a runoff election last Thursday.

Rawlings, 53, must step down under the constitution brought in with the restoration of multi-party politics in 1992 under domestic and international pressure.

Following Rawlings' "revolution" two decades ago, he scrapped the constitution, abolished political parties and dissolved parliament.

Riding on his lasting image as a man of the people, Rawlings won the presidential vote in 1992, and was reelected for his second and final term in 1996, when he narrowly defeated Kufuor.

Rawlings' protege Atta Mills proved less of a match for Kufuor in last month's elections, owing to a combination of factors including lack of charisma, complacency and the economic crisis dogging the country of 18 million people.

The elections also dealt a blow to Rawling's National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 200-member parliament, erasing its comfortable majority of 133 seats, leaving it with 92 against 100 for the NPP.

While the NDC government has been accused corruption and financial mismanagement leading to the current economic crisis, many also voted to reject the Rawlings legacy of human rights abuses during his 19 years in power, especially as military strongman from 1981 to 1992.

President-elect Kufuor and Rawlings appeared together on television Wednesday evening, facing each other on a sofa, in a demonstration of commitment to a smooth transition.

"We need to cooperate to find solutions to the economic problems that are going to beset this coutry for the next years to come," Rawlings told Kufuor, who responded: "We welcome very much your constructive criticism, because that is the essence of multi-party democracy."

Transitional teams from the outgoing and incoming administrations have begun holding meetings to discuss the transfer of power.

December's elections drew kudos from around the world, with UN chief Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian himself, calling the transfer of power "orderly and democratic".

On Tuesday, France added its voice to a chorus of international praise which has included congratulatory messages from South Africa, the United States and the former colonial power Britain, as well as the Commonwealth.