Ghana has held what was possibly the most keenly followed or
monitored general elections in since the reintroduction of democratic rule in
1992. The pre-election period was characterized with a myriad of issues and
scandals. As a result, tensions were high and the international community and
many Ghanaians were very apprehensive about possible pockets of unrest and
disturbances during and after the 2016 general elections. For this reason, the
concerned actors in this year’s election, including the Electoral Commission
(EC), the political parties, the National Peace Council, the National Commission
for Civic Education and all well-meaning Ghanaians preached peace through many
messages.
During the special voting exercise on 1st and 4th of December, 2016, many
voters were unable to cast their ballot due to missing names from the special
voters lists prepared by the EC. This resulted in the disappointment of many, a
situation the EC apologized for. As a result, many Ghana thought such an
anomaly might befall the 7thDecember, 2016.
On the voting day, as against popular fear, voting started
peacefully with little incidences. The staff of the EC, security forces and
many other stakeholders kept the peace and ensured an almost incident-free
election albeit few instances of election-related malpractices which could not mar
the outcome of the whole process, however.
The victory for Nana Akufo-Addo, the leader of the opposition New
Patriotic Party and the acceptance of the outcome by the incumbent President
and leader of the ruling National Democratic Congress has been lauded all
Ghanaians and the international community. This indeed is a win for all the
actors involved in this year’s election and most importantly, a win for Ghana. The
EC has subsequently declared Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo Addo, the President elect for
the 2016 elections in Ghana, and once again, Ghanaians have underscored the
fact that they are peaceful and prepared to uphold democratic rule.
AEP
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