A pattern is emerging as the Presidential results of Election 2008 are released. While the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) loses votes where they won, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) gains votes even where they lost compared to Election 2004 figures.
The trend started with Nkawkaw Constituency in the Eastern Region and has been replicated in Tarkwa-Nsuem in the Western Region, Dormaa East in the Brong Ahafo Region and New Juaben North also in the Eastern Region.
In the New Juaben North in 2004, President John Agyekum Kufuor obtained 17,191 votes representing 73.2 per cent of the vote cast while Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo polled 16,438 votes representing 69 per cent of the votes cast in 2008.
Former Vice President John Evans Atta Mills of NDC increased his votes from 6,042 representing 25.7 per cent in 2004 to 6,780 votes representing 28.8 per cent of the votes cast in Election 2008.
In Dormaa East he improved upon his performance, obtaining 36.08 per cent from 33.06 per cent in 2004 and in Tarkwa-Nsuaem while President Kufuor obtained 38,300 votes Akufo-Addo garnered 31,960 votes in Election 2008.
At Nkawkaw in 2004, President Kufuor obtained 31,285 votes as against 8,701 by Former Vice President Mills however the provisional results in Election 2008 indicate that Nana Akufo-Addo polled 25,628 votes compared to the 9,825 votes of Prof. Mills.
This means that the 22,584-vote advantage of NPP over NDC in 2004 was reduced to 15,803 votes. In percentage terms NPP obtained to 70.92 per cent in Election 2008 compared to the 76.6 per cent it had in 2004.
In Sekondi, President Kufuor polled 18,040 votes representing 71.66 per cent in 2004 but Nana Akufo-Addo garnered 14,226 votes representing 60.88 per cent of the votes cast while Former Vice President Mills improved upon his performance from 6,955 votes representing 26.69 votes in 2004 to 8,145 votes representing 34.86 per cent in 2008.