And the Winner is . . . Ghana!

While none of the eight candidates for President of Ghana won a majority of the votes in Sunday's election, the results have already yielded one big winner - Ghana itself.

Unlike other recent elections on the African continent, marred by violence, the Ghanain election has been lauded by international observers as free, fair and transparent.

This is Ghana's fifth election since becoming a multi-party democracy in 1992 and a clear sign to investors and observers that Ghana is indeed positioned to become the economic gateway to West Africa and perhaps the continent as a whole by virtue of its political stability and growing legal and business infrastructure.

A runoff between the top two contenders for the Presidency has been scheduled for December 28. The contenders, Nana Akufo-Addo of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and John Atta Mills of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), each finished with over 45% of the vote ( Akufo-Addo had 49.13 percent and Mills 47.92) and Ghanain law requires a majority.

American businesses would do well to recognize the necessity to look to Ghana as a base for operations that will provide entree into the largest english speaking market outside of North America.