Kuffuor set to sweep Ghana's polls
From Clifford Ndujihe,
Accra
EARLY reports yesterday indicate that Ghana's incumbent President John Agyekum Kufuor is on his way to retaining his seat.
Kufuor, of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) won 80 percent of the results released as at press time yesterday evening.
Irrespective of the eventual winner, however, the citizens appeared united on the need for peace and continued economic progress of the country.
As long, snaky queues lined all parts of the country yesterday, presenting an enchanting aerial view, one message from their faces was palpable: Everybody is a winner.
The citizens trooped out in large numbers for what turned out as a peaceful fourth presidential and parliamentary election.
A good percentage of the 10.2 million approximately half of the country's population partook in the exercise. The message on their faces was that the prevailing peace in the country, which has resulted in phenomenal economic development, must continue irrespective of the eventual winner.
For a nation which rose from ashes, deprivation and want in the late 70s and early 80s, to a buoyant and promising economy in 2004, Ghana has come a long way. The citizens must vote for different candidates, but the spirit is the same-this new life must continue.
Kufuor and his predecessor Jerry John Rawlings of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) hailed the conduct of the polls.
Unlike in some countries, a public holiday was not declared to enable voters participate in the election. Markets, banks and offices were open for business.
Students went to school, taxi drivers operated without hindrance as the roads were busy all day. Those who closed shop did so on their own volition.
The voters, some of whom had to go to work, timed themselves. Some came out very early in the morning, some mid-morning and others in the afternoon as those who were on queue before the 5p.m closing time were allowed to vote. The exercise began at 7 a.m.
President Kufuor and his wife Theresa voted at 11 a.m. at their T/B Dzorwulu (Open Space) polling station.
Rawlings' arrival at 9.10 a.m., in a green metallic Toyota Sports Utility Vehicle with the number: "GR 8747T," attracted a tumultuous crowd of children, youths, and women. He voted at 9.20 a.m. They sang his praise, chanting: "JJ" "JJ" "Papa" Papa." His polling station was PWD (Main Unit) Osu/Castle in Korley Klottey Constituency, Accra.
As he was being handed the folded ballot papers, Rawlings nodded approvingly at the conduct of the election and enquired from the electoral if that was the situation across the country. The officer answered in the affirmative and the former ruler said: "That is good."
Rawlings told reporters after casting his vote that if the process remained free and fair as he witnessed in his station, the NDC would carry the day.
Kufuor, who arrived in a black S500 Mercedes Benz car with a retinue of security aides, said those who claimed that the polls would be manipulated had been put to shame.
In an emergency Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on Monday evening, the NDC had alleged that some people were planning to rig the election.
Bede Ziedeng (deputy general secretary) and Dr. Tony Aidoo, an NDC leader claimed that upon critical analysis of the voters' register that the number of voters in 20 constituencies had been bloated. They alleged that some people were planning to cause confusion during the counting of ballot so as to replace the boxes with stuffed ones.
Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, the Electoral Commission chairman had assured the party leaders that no manipulation would be tolerated.
Kufuor said yesterday: "You can see for yourselves that the election is free and fair," adding that the fears entertained by the NDC were unnecessary.
"Perhaps, they are afraid of defeat. I know that Ghanaians will give me a second term to complete my positive change programmes," he stated.
The Bawku incident occurred when the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) in the constituency, Madam Hawa Yakubu of the ruling NPP came to cast her vote. Some youths who claimed she did not represent the constituency well at the Parliament insisted that she would not be allowed to vote.
Security agents at hand asked the youths to "remove" the MP through their votes but they remained adamant on their demand. In the process, the atmosphere became rowdy, gunshots rang out and two men hit on their laps as everybody scampered for safety.
As early as 9.30 a.m., most polling stations in Accra had recorded about 200 voters. Reports monitored on radio from other regions also showed impressive turnout for the 10-hour polls.
The exercise was conducted in the open and the process was leak-proof. Anyone hoping to manipulate the process might have to become a magician.
At each of the 21,000 polling stations across the country, there were a presiding officer, four polling assistants and agents of the presidential and parliamentary candidates. From the queue, a prospective voter would come along with his voters' identity card, which contains his photograph and other features like name, age, sex, polling station and constituency.
His name and data were thereafter cross-checked in the EC's Poll Book. If found, his thumb nail was inked and he was issued with the ballot paper for the presidential election. He would then go to thumb-print a few metres away on a partially covered table, which made his choice secret. After casting the vote, he would return to collect ballot papers for the parliamentary election and repeat the voting procedure. Two big transparent ballot boxes were provided for vote casting.
Behind the electoral officers were observers and party agents who were armed with polling cards and charts containing the number of voters registered at the polling station. The charts were divided into small squares numbered from one to 990 in some stations. A square or number was ticked or crossed out as a voter cast his ballot, that way multiple voting was checked and the number of voters that turned up for the election was known to all at a glance.
Speaking on the conduct of the polls, Mr. Nana Kofi Karikari, the EC's principal electoral officer (Public Affairs) who confirmed the Bawku incident said that the elections were peaceful all over the country.
He said: "Everything is going on steadily. The only problem is in Bawku Central Constituency where at the moment voting has been suspended because when the MP Madam Yakubu went to cast her vote, she was prevented by some people. The security intervened and there was confusion. One or two persons were shot and the confusion was such that voting cannot go on."
Expressing hope that the incident would not recur in other areas, Karikari said Ghanaians "are afraid to go the Liberian, Sierra Leonean and Cote Ivorian way. (The three countries have experienced wars in recent times). So everybody has been briefed adequately to do the right thing. Win or lose, the primary responsibility is security."
He said the problems of late distribution of electoral materials, commencement of election and arrival of security agents in some polling stations were taken care of early and could not affect negatively the outcome of the polls conducted by 105,690 electoral officers.
The election was monitored by 7,400 local observers and a host of international observers and journalists from Nigeria, Britain and Asia.
Commenting on the election, a man in his early 60s who voted at 9.15a.m., said it was orderly. "I came out here at 7.30a.m and queued. It has been orderly. I hope it will continue to be so."
On what he expected from the winner of the election, the man said he wanted the new president to carry all Ghanaians along in his administration by improving their welfare.
As the polls progressed, the leaders and followers of the parties were still confident of winning. The NPP for example insisted that it would secure "a one-touch" victory. The NDC said it was sure of routing the NPP by securing victory in seven of the 10 regions of the country.
Whether their optimism would be translated into electoral reality is a question of time.
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