[ad_1]
From: TT
Published:
February 1 | Photo: Ofoe Amegavie / AP / TT
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo wins the presidential election Here she appears at a polling station in the capital, Accra, to vote on Monday. Stock Photography.
The current president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, will remain in office.
Yet deadly violence casts a long shadow over a very uniform settlement, in a country that has been seen as a role model for its neighbors.
Akufo-Addo wins the presidential elections with 51.5 percent of the vote, the electoral commission announced at a press conference.
The election was expected to be an even battle between Nana Akufo-Addo and her predecessor in the presidency, John Mahama. The two were obviously the top candidates among the total of 14 who stood up, as they had faced each other before. The main parties they represent have surrendered power in Ghana’s elections since 1992.
Mahama received 47.3 percent of the votes.
Incidents of violence
Ghana has long been something of a democratic exception in a politically troubled West Africa. Seven peaceful elections have been held there over the past 30 years, and prior to this year’s elections, Nana Akufo-Addo and John Mahama signed a symbolic agreement to allow everything to unfold peacefully.
But since Monday, five people have died, according to police, who have had to deal with 22 cases of politically motivated violence, including several shootings.
On Wednesday, supporters of John Mahama gathered outside the electoral commission headquarters in the capital Accra, honking the horn with vuvuzelas and demanding the publication of a result, as they were convinced it would show that Mahama had won.
Is the result accepted?
Observers say the election was fair, but while votes were being counted, Mahamas staff accused the president of the same for using military pressure at polling stations, which opponents said was not true.
Both sides have also presented their own unofficial results showing that their own candidate has won. However, according to the agreement entered into, all disputes must be legally resolved.
“We will resist any attempt to oppress the will of the people,” John Mahama said Tuesday, which can be interpreted as a willingness to follow the elections in the courts.
Published:
