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On Monday, December 7, in Ghana, one of the most stable countries in West Africa, 17 million voters were expected to vote to choose from 12 candidates for the highest office and choose their 275 deputies.
From our Accra correspondent,
“NDC. NPP. NDC. NPP. The time is 17.15, the polling station has just closed. The bill begins. At this police station in the Osu district, where voters have been following each other since the morning, the same voters returned to check at night that their vote had been taken into account. “It’s not that I do not trust the Electoral Commission, trying to qualify a twenty under his blue mask. But let’s say I prefer to be there to make sure that everything remains transparent.”
In the 38,622 polling stations that are open on Monday, the ritual is the same. The electoral officer counts publicly and announces aloud the election of each ballot. About fifty people came to watch the scene. In theory, the whole thing lasts just under half an hour, explains the head of the constituency, but can last until late in the evening if the voters demand a recalculation.
Overall, the voting day went smoothly from kl. 07:00 to 17:00, by appointment. Incidents were still reported at noon. In Kasoa, as yet unidentified men, the car was shot by two members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). The injured were taken to hospital. The attackers fled and are being questioned by the police. Some polling stations were overwhelmed by masses of voters, such as Odododiodoo, a constituency in Accra.
In some places, minor hardware problems caused delays in the opening of polling stations. Two members of the Electoral Commission were also arrested in two constituencies, Awutu Senya West and Bawku Central, for polling. Observers warned that the counting and announcement of the results could give rise to more tensions.
A model democracy
This Monday was declared a public holiday by President Nana Akufo-Addo, a measure that made it possible to shorten the usual queues that started at 05.00. And therefore to limit voters’ impatience, often a source of tension. In Nima, a working class area in Accra that is traditionally loyal to the opposition, NPP and NDC activists live together in harmony. “I am waiting for my turn, and after voting, I will go home and I will wait for the results,” Mohamed Haoualalasan Abdhala describes. “Why should we fight for an election? Both the NDC and the NPP have the same goal: the development of Ghana.”
There is a feeling among all voters: the pride of being a model in West Africa, the region was shaken this year by questionable and violent polls as in the Ivory Coast neighborhood. Political violence is rare here and inter-ethnic or religious tensions are almost non-existent. Tumrani Youssef, 82, walks slowly down the street to put his vote in the ballot box. This retired hairdresser, who trains Muslims, explains that she feels at home in this multi-lingual capital. “Christians and Muslims, we all live at the same rate,” she explains. Our holy days are holidays, as are Christian holidays. We Muslims often go to Christian festivals, and they do the same. We live together, we vote together. We have no reason to argue. After all, we all believe in one God. ”
At the next polling station, a few tens of meters away, NPP voter Alah Djimohamed proudly defends Nana Akufo-Addo’s colors. “He is a good president. He gave us free high school and luckily! I have four children, can you imagine if I would have to pay for their education at all? And when Covid-19 arrived, it made water and electricity free. “A statement that does not share Moussa Ossman Bilah, an activist for the NDC, who points in particular to the scandals of corruption and nepotism that corrupted the outgoing president’s mandate.” We must free Ghana from this clique of corrupt politicians, “he said. better than this, and I can not wait for the victory to return to the NDC again. “
A likely victory in the first round
The outgoing president, Nana Akufo-Addo, went to the polls this morning in Kyebi, in the east. Smiling, he told the press to be “happy with how the day went.” His rival John Mahama, also a former head of state, now in opposition to the NDC’s chief, voted in Bole, in the center-west, his region of origin, where the vote took place without incident.
Ten other candidates participated, but with little chance of winning: no one had more than 1% of the votes in the last ballot. The Election Commission has promised to give the results of the vote on Tuesday. The winner must win more than 50% of the votes to win in the first round, unless a second round will take place on 28 December. Which would be a first step in the history of Ghanaian democracy.
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