Euphoria as Ghana celebrates democratic change

[Pictures from Joy Online]

Ghana was gripped in euphoria Saturday as the nation celebrated its first democratic transfer of power, what President-elect John Kufuor described as "a great achievement for our infant democracy."

Kufuor pledged in his victory speech on Saturday to work for "positive change for all Ghanaians, not only of my party."



Speaking at his residence at a press conference that could be better described as a rally, he said: "We are at the start of a brand new century, and with your support we can make it the Ghanaian century."

Hundreds of ecstatic supporters were outside his residence eager for a glimpse of their new president, who will succeed Jerry Rawlings, the former military strongman who has completed two four-year terms and is now obliged to make a constitutional exit.

Ruling party candidate John Atta Mills called Kufuor late Friday to concede defeat and offer his full cooperation in the transition to a new government, the country's first transfer of power from one duly elected president to another since independence in 1957.



Kufuor had maintained a steady lead throughout the reporting of results since the Thursday vote, ending up with a 57 to 43 percent win.

Celebrations broke out around the country, including in areas formerly dominated by Rawlings' National Democratic Congress (NDC), many of whose supporters were more caught up in the excitement of change than in the despondency of defeat.

In Accra, firecrackers erupted as people took to the streets waving flags, and minibuses could be seen circulating, with horns blaring and daredevils hanging out open doors shouting slogans.


In Kumasi, heartland of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), celebrations began well before Atta Mills' late-night concession, with street parties and firecrackers as pubs filled with merrymakers praying and swaying to gospel music, Joy FM reported.

Even in the remote north of the country -- a former NDC stronghold where swing voters added weight to Kufuor's victory -- opposition and ruling party supporters were celebrating side by side what a radio correspondent described as a "victory for Ghanaians."

"There's no ill feeling," marveled Gregg Quinn, a British diplomat who was among the some 200 international observers of the vote.

An NDC supporter of Rawlings' Ewe tribe explained the attitude by saying: "We want our democracy to work like in America."



Quinn was pleased and relieved that the election had reached a genuine conclusion despite disturbances that threatened to derail the exercise.
"It's an exceedingly good day for Ghana and for Africa," he said, calling the vote "a triumph for democracy."

Electoral Commissioner Kwadwo Afari Gyan, in formally announcing Kufuor's victory on Saturday morning, said: "It is the Ghanaian people who are the winner in this election."

The west African country's economic doldrums were a major factor in the opposition victory, with voters hoping for a remedy to unemployment, high inflation and a weakening currency.

While the NDC government has been held to account for corruption and financial mismanagement, many also voted to reject the Rawlings legacy of human rights abuses during his 19 years in power, especially as military strongman from 1981 to 1992.


Kufuor will preside over a parliament whose makeup was radically changed in legislative elections three weeks ago, when the NPP clinched 99 of the 200 seats and the NDC saw its comfortable majority disappear as it held on to only 92 seats from its previous total of 133.

"Ghanaians have waited for this for decades," analyst Emmanuel Aning told AFP early Saturday.
He warned, however: "This honeymoon is not going to last. You cannot transform the lifestyles of people within even three years, so it is critical that you tell people the truth."