African Elections Project (Accra)
3 January 2009
Accra — The President-Elect, Prof. John Evans Ata Mills on Saturday said he had accepted the challenge to be the President and gave the assurance that he would be the President for all Ghanaians.
"There will be no discrimination. Atta Mills will be father to everybody," he said, as he delivered his victory speech to thousands of supporters, who thronged the Osu Kuku Hill Campaign Office of the Mills Campaign.
President-Elect Mills expressed his appreciation to God for brining Ghana so far and said he was also grateful to outgoing President John Agyekum Kufuor for declaring his intention to hand over power to him on January 7 2009.
Sporting a white shirt, a black pair of trousers and black pair of shoes, and standing on a dais adorned by Ghana national colours of red, gold and green, he also expressed appreciation to the people of Ghana for the mandate given to him to be President for the next four years.
President-Elect Mills said it had been a long struggle with sacrifices and with the elections over, there was only one Ghana.
"With the elections over, there is only one Ghana. There is no NDC Ghana; there is no NPP Ghana; there is no CPP Ghana. There is one Ghana," he said to the roar of the milling supporters.
He congratulated his main contender, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and leaders of the other political parties that contested the December 7 elections.
President-Elect Mills said he hoped that together with all Ghanaians, he would be able to work to build a better Ghana.
He also expressed his appreciation to the Electoral Commission, security agencies and the media for helping to keep politicians and the parties on their toes during the electioneering process.
The President-Elect advised supporters of the NDC to be moderate in their celebrations and not to do anything that would provoke others.
"We have to be preparing for the task ahead. This is just one step of a journey of a million miles."
He said he would pray for wisdom and humility to steer the affairs of Ghana, adding "May we pray to God to continue to shower his blessings on Ghana".
Soon after the President-Elect left the dais, a huge bottle of champagne was popped to the enthusiastic crowd to welcome the President-Elect.
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Atta Mills MUST do as he says and lead Ghana as ONE PEOPLE. Regardless of tribalism and poverty, human beings want the same basic things - water, food, shelter, education, jobs and as an outside "luxury" they wouldn't mind having electricity and running water...Ghana is on its way, but it has a LONG way to go - hopefully Atta Mills will aid the progress of his country rather than reap/rape the rewards at the expense of his people. I know it sounds corny, but if he can look to Barack Obama, he will succeed. My heart lies in the Ivory Coast - if Ghana can be uplifted by good governance, perhaps Gbagbo will feel the pressure to attempt democracy and allow his power-hungry regime to be voted out. Good luck Ghana, I wish you well.
Good for Ghana and hopefully for the rest of Africa. If an African country, such as Ghana, can hold free and fair elections and have a smooth transfer of power why can't other African countries do the same ? There are multiple ethnicities and kingdoms in Ghana too, just as it is the case with many other African countries.
Africans are tired of excuses that somehow seem to suggest that African countries are not capable of democratic rule - to the absurd extent that they cannot even free and fair elections!
Let this be a lesson to the rest of Africa, especially the recent lackeys (to criminal rule) in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Guinea, and Mauritania.
I am very happy but also sad why can't order African countries cant do the same???????????This should be a big lesson for all the African countries but we are tired and sick of thier tricks.God bless us all.
I don't know anything about any African Country apart from Nigeria(My home Country). I have spent an equal number of years in Nigeria and the US where I am today. One thing is clear:There may be a higher level of intolerance for electoral corruption in Ghana and the United States than attains in Nigeria. This may be due to the fact that we have a large number of very poor people in Nigeria than in Ghana or the United States of America. There was a time I was tempted to suggest that it is easier to control a country with a relatively small population than a country with a fat population. But, I realise that the US has a higher population than Nigeria, yet,does well in elections. Dont get me wrong! There are lots of useless voters in America as we have in other places. For example, we have some people who donot know that the election is about which candidate is likely to ensure economic and social justice. You find out however in South Florida some Wachos who vote according to their tribes. Some of them are one isuue voters. So, congrats to Ghana for a job well done. We donot expect that in Nigeria. Yrs indeed Phillip Kientimi Owi(Prof-Math)
Because Ghana is one of the few African countries that values freedom over stability. It is not possible to have both, and anyone who tells you otherwise (Marxists) is trying to dupe you into slavery.
Congratulations to the people and leadership of Ghana! This is a good indication that democracy can and must prevail in power devolution processes, anywhere in Africa. Governments facing upcoming elections in Senegal and elsewhere in Africa must follow suit and recognize the right of their people to choose their own leaders.
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