Africa Is a Country
December 11, 2012
Ghana held its sixth consecutive elections since its democratic
transition in 1992 this past weekend and once again has earned its
reputation as a stable and thriving democracy, in spite of predictable
cries of fraud by the losers, the New Patriotic Party (NPP). As I predicted here before the elections, Ghanaians
elected the incumbent president John Dramani Mahama in a close vote and
his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) expanded its majority
in parliament. Mahama, who took over as president in June when
then-President John Ata Mills died, faced the NPP’s veteran leader Nana
Akufo-Addo in Friday’s polls. Mahama’s “one-touch” victory–meaning a
second round run-off election was avoided–was not unexpected, since he
led Akufo-Addo in independent polls before the vote. Nonetheless, there
were surprises, such as the defeat of several prominent parliamentarians
and the record number of women elected to the legislative body (29 out
of 275 seats). As Mahama sets up his transition team and the NPP
threatens to challenge the results in court, here are six lessons from
Ghana’s sixth elections:To read more......
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