By LUCAS L. JOHNSON II
Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The former president of the National Baptist Convention USA has sued the denomination over an election he overwhelmingly lost.

Delegates to the convention, the nation's largest and oldest black denomination, chose the Rev. Julius R. Scruggs over the Rev. Henry Lyons in last month's vote.

In a lawsuit filed Oct. 9 in Washington, D.C., Lyons alleges election fraud and improper vote-counting.

He lost to Scruggs on a vote of 4,108 to 924.

Lyons, who was forced out as the group's president in 1999 after an investigation revealed he abused his power and stole about $4 million, had sued in the same court to try to stop the election.

Officials with the Nashville-based denomination did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

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