7 January 2009
editorial
What a healthy political competition ever to come out of our God-forsaken Africa! The recently concluded Ghanaian poll was an experience to behold.
Once again, Ghana could be showing the way for the beleaguered African democracies. Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence in 1957.
It could as well be the first African country to have a free and fair, closely fought poll. The ruling New National Party (NNP) lost to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) with a slim margin of 40,000 votes from a total of nine million voters.
The centre-left NDC of John Atta Mills got 50.23 per cent from the December 28, 2008 presidential run-offs against NNP's Nana Akufo-Addo's 49.77 per cent. The centre-right former ruling party's Addo was, however, quick to concede defeat and congratulated his rival once the electoral commission had announced the results last Saturday.
Though the looser was later to indicate that he might challenge the results in the courts, the most important consideration is that his initial concession may have averted the kind of bloodshed that has come to characterise the aftermath of African elections.
Addo, and indeed the Ghanaian public, must be commended for showing us the way. Ghana has demonstrated that even a hotly contested poll does not necessarily have to culminate in violence. Even more amazing is the fact that it is the ruling party that lost at the polls, a rare occurrence in Africa. How many ruling parties will easily accept defeat and bow out gracefully, we wonder.
Ghana went through five military coups since independence before Jerry Rawlings re-introduced multi-party democracy in 1992. He later lost the presidency to the opposition's John Kufour in January 2001.
After serving the maximum two elected four-year terms, Kufour will today hand over to the victorious opposition led by Atta-Mills.
The closeness of the poll should keep the new administration on their toes. It has been proven the world over that such a competitive outcome often produces an accountable government - a government that listens and respects the wishes of its citizens.
Closely contested elections invariably produce respectful and efficient governments that derive their authority from the voters and taxpayers; not some ego-blotted party committee.
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