Thousands of Ghanaians and other invited guests have been gathering at Ghana’s Independence Square in Accra since 5 am this morning to witness the swearing-in ceremony of Professor John Atta Mills as the third President of the fourth republic.
The inauguration ceremony is required by the constitution of Ghana before an individual can assume the position of Ghana’s head of state and commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces and it comes at the end of long and grueling elections, which saw the ruling party New Patriotic Party (NPP) handling power to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The ceremony will see President John Agyekum Kufour handling the symbol of presidential office (sword) to Prof Mills while the Chief Justice of Ghana, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, will administer the presidential oath of office to the incoming president. Vice- president Mr. John Dramani Mahama will also be sworn in.
Prior to the commencement of the inauguration ceremony, a new parliament and the first female speaker in the history of Ghana, Mrs Justice Joyce Bamford-Addo (a retired Supreme Court judge) are expected to be sworn into office.
In a related development, six West African heads of state are expected to attend today's inauguration. The official delegation for the inauguration obtained by the Ghana News Agency listed the heads of state as being from Togo, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Benin and the Nigeria president, who is expected to be the guest speaker.
Other dignitaries expected are the Chairman of the African Commission, Mr Jean Ping, the Liberian Vice President, Niger's Prime Minister, the South African Foreign Minister, the U.S. Director of the Peace Corps, a delegation from Guinea and the Governor of Delta State, Nigeria.
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Oh look! Ghana has changed administrators without the world coming to an end. No sabotage, no refugees, no dire threats from the [now] opposition.
Peaceful polls, peaceful electioneering the whole thing worked out perfectly. Ghana should be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize!
Or is it that the previous incumbent hopes that he will get his just deserts from that mysterious African who justly rewards good behaviour?
After waching our Anc [and the Ancyl]supporters do everything to prevent our Cope from [very much like the apartheid government] finding a venue an' the subsequent disruption of their local meetings by the Anc [AncHO denying their involvement like mad] this is like a breath of fresh air.
The Anc will do well to recall the phrase occuring before the murder of Thomas Becket by Henry II 900 years ago. Henry II denied giving any instructions other than asking "who will rid me of this turbulent priest" thereby avoiding [Nixon like] responsibility. But history HAS remembered and reviled Henry down the ages.
Is this the path the Anc chooses? Stalin and all his successors also tried to re-write their history and the world is still "laffing".
Will our Anc leaders end up just as international jesters and comics because already they're on the right road. as it is...
WOW!
Great!
But then he stands and swears on a foreigner's manifesto called 'bible'!
Yep, the more they think they are moving forward, the more they show that they are STILL stuck in inferiority complex that is the legacy of the white man in Africa.
Still colonial!