Daily Independent (Lagos)
Sunny Igboanugo
30 December 2008
Accra — Baring any dramatic outcome, the Presidential run-off election in Ghana appears firmly in the wraps of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), which lost power eight years ago.
From the results already declared, the outcome favours its candidate, John Atta Mills, whose camp had launched attacks on the electoral process.
The NDC, according to a combination of provisional and certified results, won in eight of the 10 regions of Greater Accra, Central, Western, Volta, Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West, leaving the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) with only Ashanti and Eastern Regions, homes of President John Kuffor and Nana Akufo-Addo, the NPP candidate.
Even before the official results are declared, a local media station Joy FM, has predicted that with the result so far released it is impossible for Akufo-Addo to catch up, and therefore declared Mills the winner.
But the NPP quickly responded to the prediction, saying on Monday evening at a press briefing that since the result the station relied on is provisional, it could not be relied on.
Director of Campaign for the NPP Campaign Committee, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, told reporters at the conference hall of the Ghana International Press Centre that the results being relied on are far from those of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (ECG).
"The process by which Hoy FM arrived at the said projection is highly speculative and premature, especially in the face of the challenges to both the process and many of its outcomes," the NPP insisted, adding that given the closeness of the election, it could be speculative to project a winner.
It said it is already challenging the outcome of the polls in some regions, particularly in the Volta, home of former President Jerry Rawlings, where elections were allegedly marred by "significant irregularities, including the barring of many NPP agents from polling stations to monitor and thus be able to certify the results."
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