WE congratulate the Republic of Ghana on its peaceful presidential election, and for living up to its reputation as the leading light in democratic practice in West Africa since 1992 when its multi-party rule began.
Whereas elections often conjure trepidations and threats of civil wars in other African countries, Ghana has maintained a smooth, solid, crisis and violence-free elections record, no matter how hard-fought the campaigns. The election of December 7, 2016 was its seventh of such successes.
The president-elect, Mr. Nana Akuffo-Addo, equally deserves congratulations for his victory at the ripe age of 72, after two previous attempts. He is an experienced hand, having held the positions of justice minister and foreign affairs minister in the past. Now, he has a responsibility to fulfill his wonderful promises which captivated the Ghanaian electorate.
President John Dramani Mahama took the outcome of the election like a true statesman. He called his opponent, Akuffo Addo, to concede the election and offer his congratulations. He has, once more, been a mirror image of Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan. His concession speech is as remarkable for its gallantry and sportsmanship as it is statesmanlike. Even in the heat of the ballot-counting, President Mahama calmed nerves by urging Ghanaians to “allow (Electoral Commission) EC to carry out its constitutional mandate.” He also promised that “we’ll make Ghana proud, no matter the outcome.” He has, indeed, done his bit and had wished to do more, but the Ghanaian people spoke otherwise. He has no choice but to respect their wishes.
We praise President Mahama for his mature handling of the election outcome and commend his concession speech to every politician on the continent. It is good that he has been chosen by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government to be the deputy to President Muhammadu Buhari as mediator in the current political crisis in the Gambia. There is no doubt that Mahama’s enlightened, indeed, exemplary attitude to democracy and accountability would be helpful in the delicate negotiations required to secure a peaceful transition in the Gambia.
We wish Ghana greater prosperity under its new leadership and hope it learns from and builds on the experience of its outgoing president. As experience has shown throughout the world, and as President Buhari can testify, winning an election is just one leg of the journey, fulfilling the promises made during the election is the other, and more challenging leg. But, the rule of thumb is to consider service to country above self.
Akuffo Addo won 53.85 per cent of the votes, which is quite remarkable as mandates go, but he must be president of all Ghanaians, including the 46 per cent who voted for other candidates. Governments of inclusion often have a greater chance of success by carrying everyone along, compared to the winner-takes-all model.
There is no doubt that the economic situation of Ghana exerted more than a casual influence on the decision of voters to cast their votes for the victorious New Patriotic Party. That is gradually becoming the trend worldwide. Time is long past when governments can ignore the economic welfare of their people. The World Bank report that employment among Ghanaian youths hovers around 48 per cent is alarming and probably did more to tip the scales in favour of NPP’s “Changing Lives, Transforming Ghana” manifesto with its specific promise of a “factory in each of the country’s 216 districts.”
The fulfillment of this promise should be the topmost priority of the Akuffo Addo administration, in addition to keeping an eagle eye on the public treasury to check corruption and punish it whenever it occurs.