Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has conceded defeated and congratulated Prof John Evans Atta Mills on his election as the new President of Ghana.
While pledging his co-operation for the development of the country, Nana Akufo-Addo called on the President-elect to prevail upon supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) not to celebrate the victory by attacking NPP activists and in a manner that would further polarise the nation.
“This is, today, a divided country. These times call for leadership from all of us so that we can continue to re-build this country. Both Prof Mills and I have an obligation to foster conciliation and consensus and I pledge to do my part,” the NPP flag bearer told journalists at the NPP Headquarters in Accra a few hours after the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, had announced the results of the run-off.
Present were the cream of the party’s leadership, including Nana Akufo-Addo’s running mate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; the Chairman of the NPP Campaign Team, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey; the Campaign Director, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku; a member of the campaign team and Member of Parliament (MP) for New Juaben North, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, and the immediate past Chairman of the party, Mr Harona Esseku.
Dozens of armed policemen guarded the premises of the NPP headquarters and the street in front of it.
Nana Akufo-Addo encouraged supporters of the party not to lose hope but “remain steadfast, united and ready to confront the new challenge that we face and our effort to build Ghana as a democracy where human rights and the rule of law are respected”.
“We have much to do and I’m confident that together we will achieve our goals. I believe in Ghana and, God willing, we shall be back!” he declared.
That declaration was greeted with loud cheers from scores of NPP supporters who had gathered at the headquarters at Asylum Down, where the leadership had earlier locked themselves up in a long meeting to ponder over their electoral misfortune.
Until Nana Akufo-Addo addressed them, the mood of the supporters was one of disappointment and anger, as some of them blamed the leadership for their woes.
Nana Akufo-Addo lost the race for the Golden Jubilee House to Prof Mills by about 40,000 votes in a closely contested presidential run-off that was characterised by tension and rancour, as well as the trading of allegations and counter- allegations of irregularities between the NPP and the NDC.
Dr Afari-Gyan dismissed the allegations made by both political parties, went ahead to declare Prof Mills the winner and President-elect and immediately the tension that had hung over the nation for the past week gave way to spontaneous jubilation by NDC supporters across the country, while NPP supporters kept a low profile.
Although Nana Akufo-Addo accepted the results, he expressed reservations about the decision of the EC to dismiss the evidence submitted to it by the NPP in respect of the alleged irregularities during the presidential run-off in the Volta Region and declared his intention to contest the matter in court for the sake of good democratic practices in the country.
He said Ghana was now at the cross-roads and “we must work together to build this nation”.
About 200 metres away from the NPP Headquarters, across the Ring Road, hundreds of jubilant supporters of the NDC had gathered at the party’s headquarters near the Paloma Restaurant at Kokomlemle to celebrate their victory.
The crowd spilled over onto the Ring Road, as many of them, clad in party T-shirts and other paraphernalia, as well as white head and arm bands, moved in processions on the road, amid drumming, singing and dancing.
The tooting of horns by vehicles and motorbikes, some of which sped dangerously on the side of the Ring Road between the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and the King Tackie Tawiah Overpass, was a constant spectacle.
As a result, there was vehicular traffic that stretched from the overpass to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle for more than five hours, giving the police a hectic time in trying to sanitise the situation.
When Prof Mills and the Vice President-elect, Mr John Mahama, arrived at the party headquarters, led by a police motorcade, the crowd went into a frenzy, as the reality of the change they had been yearning for dawned on them for the first time.
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