.As Ghana’s main opposition party rejects ‘flawed’ poll results
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday congratulated President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana on his re-election for a second term in office.
The President also commended the people of Ghana on the successful conclusion of the presidential and parliamentary elections, attesting further that with the right institutions and political leadership, constitutional democracy in the West African sub-region has come to stay.
A statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) also quoted Buhari of appealing to other contestants in the elections to put national interest above personal and partisan considerations and maintain the peace, while seeking resolution of grievances through established legal avenues.
“The President notes that Nigeria and Ghana share close historic and cultural ties, adding that he looks forward to working with his Ghanaian counterpart in realising shared goals that bring peace, security and prosperity to the citizens of both countries in particular and the ECOWAS community in general.
“The Nigerian leader wishes President Akufo-Addo a successful new tenure, peace and stability in his country as well as improved bilateral relations”, the statement added..
Meanwhile, Ghana’s main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) said on Wednesday that it will not accept the results of the general elections announced by the Electoral Commission (EC) that gave victory to incumbent President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Media reports quoted Haruna Iddrisu, Minority Leader in Parliament, as saying the NDC has “overwhelming” evidence that proved that the party’s candidate, John Dramani Mahama, won the poll.
“As a party, we have had extensive consultations and detailed analysis of the outcome of the elections as announced by Jean Mensa, the EC chair. We have come to only one irresistible conclusion, that it is a flawed, discredited election and therefore we reject the presidential result without any reservation,” he said.
The EC Chairperson announced NPP’s Nana Akufo-Addo as winner for a second four-year term. He will be sworn in on 7 January 2021.
The EC’s collated results showed that Akufo-Addo polled 6,730,413 votes (51.59%) against former President Mahama’s 6,214,889 (47.36%). There were 12 presidential candidates.
Local news reports quoted Mr Iddrisu as saying that the NDC believes that there are attempts to rob the party of both their presidential and parliamentary victories.
He said that Mahama wrote a petition to the EC before the results were announced to voice his concerns over the collation.
“That (petition) was treated with utmost contempt and that we consider unacceptable. We also want to serve notice that the blatant effort even to deny us a parliamentary majority will be fiercely resisted.”
According to Iddrisu, the party is taking “decisive” decisions to challenge the presidential and parliamentary results.
“Ghana’s democracy has come under severe attack and needs some rescue urgently,” he said.
“If not rescued, these attacks will fester and grow into future elections and that will disfigure our track record as a true democratic nation,” he added.
