Accra — Early returns in Ghanas presidential and parliamentary elections on Thursday are looking positive for the main opposition National Patriotic Party (NPP), which, with six other parties, is competing for the top job in the country as well as two hundred seats in parliament.
The results are being collated at the headquarters of the Independent Electoral Commission in Accra. Final results are expected on Sunday, seventy-two hours after the poll. Radio stations carrying live updates of the elections are careful to precede their announcements with the proviso "its early days yet, results of many constituencies have still to come in."
Voting on Thursday was mainly orderly and good-tempered throughout Ghana.
The NPP is headed by John Agyekum Kufuor, an Oxford-trained lawyer and former businessman, who celebrates his 62nd birthday today. He has campaigned on a popular platform of 'positive change, after almost twenty years under the presidency of Jerry Rawlings, a former air force fighter pilot and erstwhile coup leader.
Kufuor unsuccessfully challenged Rawlings for the leadership of Ghana during the 1996 presidential election.
The NPP flagbearer, and other opposition leaders, point to the lamentable state and mismanagement of the economy, plus corruption in official circles under Rawlings, 'crimes for which the Ghanaian leader had a number of army officers executed when he first seized power in 1979.
Rawlings has been responsible for two of the five coups detat that have rocked the foundations of independence in Ghana since 1957.
Rawlings National Democratic Congress (NDC) fielded the current vice president, John Atta Mills, as its candidate, running with the slogan 'For Development and Change'. The constitution of Ghana precludes a third four-year term for President Rawlings.
Some analysts predicted that the election would be won for the NPP in Brong Ahafo and the Central Region (the heartland and home region of the NDC presidential candidate, John Atta Mills, a Fante. John Kufuor is an Ashanti).
Results so far show a swing of support in Brong Ahafo from the NDC to the NPP and John Kufuor. One voter commented that the region backed Rawlings, the individual, in the past two elections. "Now Rawlings isnt standing again, the Brong feel free to vote for change, without appearing disloyal," he told me.
President Rawlings, known for his sudden, impassioned outbursts, has been working hard at bowing out graciously, an admittedly youthful elder statesman and African leader who has been praised by western governments and other observers for showing the political maturity to step down in a show of commitment to democracy.
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When he voted on Thursday, Rawlings appealed to Ghanaians to ensure fraud-free elections and results that everyone would accept and respect. But there was an edge to his voice when he announced: "Kufuor wants to come into office, anybody including Professor Mills wants to come into office; well welcome them provided they do it in a free, genuine and sincere manner."
This echoed the theme of his address to the nation, broadcast on Wednesday night, on the eve of the general elections when Rawlings announced: "As the end of my term of office as your president draws nearer, it is my deepest wish to see my successor, whoever he may be, elected honorably, fairly and without any rancorous controversy."
At 53, Jerry Rawlings is bowing out at an age when other prospective presidential candidates around the world are beginning their campaign to lead their countries. What Rawlings will do after he hands over to his successor in Ghana on 7 January 2001 is the subject of keen speculation among Ghanaians.
Rawlings, who until recently has avoided the question of his future after the presidency in interviews, has hinted several times this week that, apart from continuing to help poor Ghanaians at the grassroots, he is considering a new career. He said: "One little project that Im seriously considering is to take on the battle against these malaria mosquitoes. How Im going to go about it, I havent quite worked out yet, but I think Ill need a break first".
