Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Accra (Agenzia Fides) – Ghana has a new President, elected by popular vote: John Atta Mills, candidate from the NDC (National Democratic Congress), who won versus candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, candidate from the NPP (New Patriotic Party), the former majority party in government.
The elections took place at the end of the second round of voting, on December 28, 2008, to the delight of Ghana’s people and that of international and national observers, who have confirmed the legality of the vote and the firm democracy present in Ghana.
64 year-old John Atta Mills was Vice-President of Ghana from 1997-2000. This is the third time that he has entered in the presidential race. Today, January 7, 2009, he replaces John Kufour, after an elaborate swearing-in ceremony celebrating his taking office. The new Parliament began functioning last week.
In spite of the tight margin of votes between the two candidates (50.23% versus 49.77%), the followers of both parties have not engaged in any form of violent conflict, which can easily lead to a civil war, as frequently occurs in Africa. We can just think of the example of elections in Kenya in December 2007, which later led to the conflicts in January-February 2008 that placed the entire nation in instability. There is also the case of Zimbabwe, where President Mugabe has used all possible means so as to remain in power. The losing candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, instead of trying to find excuses for conflict or trying to declare the elections invalid, immediately following the release of the election results he recognized his loss and congratulated the winning candidate.
The elections in Ghana can be considered a victory for all those involved in the peaceful fight for democracy in Africa, an example for the entire continent.
However, this result should not hide the fact that during the campaign there were some moments of tension and division.
Moreover, the previous administration is also leaving behind a fairly large national debt, also caused by an increase in public spending for electoral purposes, which it hopes to regain in oil drilling, beginning in 2010. However the drop in the cost of oil could force companies to have second thoughts on their investments, as the off-shore wells in Ghana imply a large cost in structures in order to extract oil. The new President will also will also face problems such as youth unemployment and the increase of crime linked to international cocaine sales. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 7/1/2009)
