[ad_1]
Ghanaians voted Monday in an election seen as a close fight between President Nana Akufo-Addo and his longtime rival, John Mahama, to lead a country seen as a beacon of stability in troubled West Africa.
Raucous crowds packed the streets of historic Jamestown in the ocean’s capital, Accra, as polling stations closed at 1700 GMT for another peaceful election.
Twelve candidates are running for the nation’s highest office along with hundreds of others vying for 275 seats in parliament.
“I’m just here to watch and make sure everything goes smoothly,” said Ishmael Adjei, 24, a private security guard, huddled in front of an Accra polling station.
“I am sure that the opposition party will win.”
Akufo-Addo has received high marks for his handling of the pandemic and his record of free education and improving access to electricity. By PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP) The main contenders have met twice before and once again the race is expected to be very close.
In the eastern city of Kyebi, people chanted “four more years!” as acting president Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (PNP) cast his vote.
A November poll by the University of Ghana placed Akufo-Addo well ahead, with 51.7 percent support.
There has never been a runoff in Ghana’s elections and the two parties have peacefully handed over power seven times since the return to democracy more than 30 years ago.
“I feel good, happy that the process is going well and in peace,” said Akufo-Addo, 76.
Mahama, 62, of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party was less effusive.
“It is too early to do an evaluation, but I understand that there have been some problems,” said Mahama.
Some polling stations opened late and the electoral commission reported isolated cases of ballot tampering, but there were no major incidents in the country’s 38,000 polling stations.
‘There are no jobs’
While Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa-producing country, has made leaps and bounds in the past 20 years, many still live in extreme poverty with little access to clean water or electricity.
Map of Ghana. By (AFP) Key issues in Monday’s vote included unemployment, infrastructure, education and health.
In the poor fishing village of Chorkor, Aku Brown, 44, an unemployed mother of two, worries about the future.
“There are no jobs. The current government says they are doing this and that but it’s all talk, they haven’t done anything for us,” Brown said.
First-time voter Nashua Ahmed echoed her, saying that inflation had added to her challenges.
“These days everything is more expensive. The economy is very bad,” said Ahmed. “The government has to compensate us.”
Growth in the nation of 30 million people, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, is expected to fall this year to 0.9 percent, its lowest level in three decades, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Around 17 million people can vote to vote for a new president and members of parliament for 275 seats. By Nipah Dennis (AFP) Akufo-Addo has received high marks for his handling of the pandemic and his record of free education and improving access to electricity.
But he has disappointed some with his performance in the fight against corruption, the key issue for which he was elected four years ago.
However, Mahama has found this difficult to highlight as he himself left office under a cloud of corruption allegations.
Mahama has also been criticized for poor financial decisions and racking up unsustainable debt.
Symbolic peace pact
Stability in Ghana contrasts with other countries in the region, with deadly riots this year in Guinea and the Ivory Coast.
The main EU observer, Javier Nart, told AFP that in Ghana “it is not the Kalashnikov that is in charge, it is the ballot box.
The two main parties have always pursued their complaints in court.
The incumbent president, Nana Akufo-Addo, signed a symbolic peace pact with his main rival before the elections. By PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP) To ensure their continuing tradition of peaceful elections, Akufo-Addo and Mahama signed a symbolic peace pact on Friday.
“The only thing we think is worth emphasizing is the general message of the main contenders that peace matters,” former South African president and current head of the African Union observation mission, Kgalema Petrus, told AFP. Motlanthe.
“There are lessons to be learned, good practices to share with other members of the African Union.”
The coronavirus pandemic has posed a challenge in this year’s elections, with 10,000 polling stations more than usual set up for the country’s 17 million registered voters.
Hand sanitizers were made available to voters and they underwent temperature checks before entering polling stations.
