GRi Newsreel Ghana
08 - 12 - 2000
Huudu Yahaya not happy with NDC's performance
Results of election 2000 being collated
Man arrested for impersonation
Wereko-Brobby concedes defeat, eats rice and chicken
Suspected alien arrested after voting.
Man arrested for alleged electoral malpractice
NPP organiser commends IGP for quick action over activists
Police tighten security as counting starts
More voters complain of impersonation
Media announcement of Bole results is false - EC
Lartey impressed, says Ghanaians accept 'domestication'
Accra
(Greater Accra) 08 December 2000
Early
results from Thursday's presidential and parliamentary elections show that the
presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr John Agyekum Kufuor
and the party's parliamentary candidates have taken an early lead.
They appear
to be doing exceptionally well in the five per cent of provisional results so
far released. And their performance cuts across the regions - Western, Ashanti,
Brong Ahafo, Greater Accra and Eastern.
They have
cut deep into the territories of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the
Brong Ahafo where Agriculture Minister Mr Joseph Owusu-Acheampong has lost his
Berekum seat. Mr Richard Dornu-Nartey,
Nii Adjei Boye Sekan, Interior Minister Nii Okaija Adamafio are the other
casualties.
Mr. John
Mahama, Minister of Communications, however, retained his seat comfortably.
The results
so far show that the NDC and the NPP are the two dominant parties.
The
National Reform Party (NRP) led by Mr Goosie Tanoh has performed below par as
it has barely made an impact in all the results declared so far.
Mr. Dan
Botwe, General Secretary of the NPP said they are encouraged by the results so
far and confident of winning in the first round.
"Results
we have compiled so far from the various polling stations in Accra and from the
regions indicate a lead for the NPP in both the presidential and parliamentary
elections.
"Our
morale even gets higher as the polling stations results come in. Currently we
are not thinking of a second round anymore," he said.
But the
propaganda secretary of the NDC, Mr Quainor Mettle said it was too early to
reach any conclusion on the trend of the results that have so far announced.
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Huudu Yahaya not happy with NDC's performance
Accra
(Greater Accra) 08 December 2000
Mr. Huudu
Yahaya, General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC),
Friday said the party's national executive is worried over the performance of
its parliamentary candidates in Thursday's elections.
"Though
it is too early to make any generalisation, we are very worried about losing
the Berekum, Odododiodio, Shama, Ledzokuku, Korle Klottey, Dadekotopon and
other major parliamentary seats to the New Patriotic Party (NPP)," he
said.
Mr. Yahaya
made the statement in a telephone interview with the GNA at 0400 hours on
Friday December 8.
He said
despite the early losses, the NDC is confident of winning the elections as there
are more results yet to be declared.
"For
us the question of losing the elections or having to go for a second round is
out," he said. "We are only unhappy with the seats we have lost but
sure of forming the next government."
Mr. Yahaya
challenged media announcement of provisional results in the Ayawaso East
constituency saying that "the figures quoted for NPP are higher than the
actual figure the party won in that area."
After the
declaration of official results from eight constituencies, Professor John Atta
Mills, presidential candidate of the NDC had 37.3 per cent of votes cast and Mr
John Agyekum Kufuor of the NPP had 56.9 per cent of votes cast.
Others are
Goosie Tanoh (National Reform Party), 1.2 per cent, Professor George Hagan,
Convention Peoples Party, 1.1 per cent and Dr. Edward Mahama (Peoples National
Convention), 2.7 per cent.
The rest
are Dan Lartey (Great Consolidated Popular Party), 0.6 per cent and Dr. Charles
Wereko-Brobby (United Ghana Movement), 0.22 per cent.
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Results of election 2000 being collated
Accra
(Greater Accra) 08 December 2000
Ghanaians
are anxiously waiting for the official release of the results of the
presidential and parliamentary elections held on Thursday.
However,
supporters of National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP)
went on victory parades when votes were counted at some polling stations.
At
most collating centres, returning officers were still receiving the results,
which trickled in.
The
Returning Officer of Ga North Constituency, Mr Seth Agyei Gyamera attributed
the delay to the unavailability of vehicles to transport the presiding officers
to the collating centre at the Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School, Legon.
Some
of the presiding officers had to come in taxis while Good Samaritans assisted
others by conveying them in their vehicles.
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Man arrested for impersonation
Accra
(Greater Accra) 08 December 2000
A
22-year-old man, Christian Vugbedor was arrested at Kojo Prempeh polling
station at Labadi in the Dade Kotopon constituency for attempting to use his
brother's photo ID card to vote, while he kept his own ID in his pocket.
According
to the presiding officer Mr Ferguson Barnes, Vugbedor came to the station with
a photo ID card to vote and but it was detected that it belonged to his
brother.
Mr. Barnes
explained that Vugbedor has no tribal marks while his brother had. He was
arrested immediately and handed over to the Cantonments police.
Inspector
Ebenezer Oduro, station officer of the Cantonments Police Station confirmed the
arrest. He said investigations are still continuing.
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Wereko-Brobby concedes defeat, eats rice and chicken
Accra
(Greater Accra) 08 December 2000
Dr Charles
Wereko-Brobby, Presidential Candidate of the United Ghana Movement (UGM), on
Thursday evening conceded defeat after several media announcements of results
from polling stations in the December 7 elections, which showed that he and his
party were not doing well.
In a
telephone interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra at about 2105 hours, Dr
Wereko-Brobby said: "The people of Ghana have spoken and we cannot do
anything about it than to accept."
"My
morale is still high and I am eating rice and chicken," he said. "Why
don't you let me finish my rice and chicken so that we can talk more tomorrow
when there would be something more concrete to talk about," he said.
Dr
Wereko-Brobby said though the results indicate that the people do not want to
take chances with the kind of change his party wants, "it still reflects
the electorates desire for change in government."
"Come
Sunday when the EC will declare the final results, we hope that this country
will see the needed change in government for a better future."
In a
separate interview telephone with Mr. Dan Botwe, General Secretary of the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) at about 21.20 hours, he said the polling station results
are encouraging "and we are confident of winning in the first round."
"Results
we have compiled so far from the various polling stations in Accra and from the
regions indicate a lead for the NPP in both presidential and parliamentary
elections," he said.
"Our
morale even gets higher as the polling stations results come in. Currently we
are not thinking of a second round anymore," he said.
Attempts to
get other presidential candidates and political party leaders to comment proved
futile as their phone lines were either busy or they were not available.
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Suspected alien arrested after voting.
Jachie
(Ashanti Region) 08 December 2000
Mohammadu
Bonsu, a fuel dealer at Prenyase in the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District was
on Thursday arrested and detained at the Jachie police station on suspicion of
being an alien after he had cast his vote at the New Prenyase polling station.
He was
however granted bail on the orders of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)
Miss Peace Mawunu, Chairperson of the District Election Security Committee.
Bonsu was
asked to report to the Asokwa Police in Kumasi on Friday for further
investigations.
DSP Mawunu
gave the order when she led members of the committee to the polling station where
the suspect cast his vote.
A source at
the Jachie police told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that one Kwabena Gyetuah of
Prenyase alleged that Bonsu was an alien but had managed to vote and therefore
reported the matter to the police
In another
development there was tension at Nuaso when three people were prevented from
voting because the residents alleged they were not known in the community.
Mr. Osei
Amankwaa Ntori, Presiding Officer of the polling station told the GNA that some
of the party agents challenged Mr Hitler Adofo who came to vote.
He
explained that though Adofo had a voter's identity card and his name was in the
voters register, there were differences in the ages on the card and the
registration form.
Adofo was
not allowed to vote because he allegedly confessed that he was asked to vote by
a group of people whom he did not know
Two girls
who were believed to be less than 18 years were also stopped from voting even
though their names were in the register
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Man arrested for alleged electoral malpractice
Tuna
(Northern Region) 08 December 2000
Mr Abudi
Diabo who allegedly assisted people to vote for a parliamentary candidate at
Tuna in the Sawla-Kalba constituency has been arrested.
The
Presiding Officer at the Tuna Health Post polling station, Mr Albert Kana, said
Diabo, 26, was arrested some few metres away from the polling station with a
miniature ballot paper indicating to people whom they should vote for.
When
contacted, Inspector Abraham Nortey, officer in charge of the Tuna Police
Station, confirmed the arrest.
He said
Diabo is under police custody pending investigations.
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NPP organiser commends IGP for quick action over activists
Kpando
(Volta Region) 08 December 2000
Mr. Anthony
Tende, NPP North Dayi Constituency Organiser, on Thursday commended the
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Peter Nanfuri and the police at Kpando for
the despatch with which they swiftly released about 18 NPP activists arrested
on Wednesday.
He said the
activists were among about 30 polling agents the party despatched to the Volta
Region to observe the polls. They came from other parts of the country and this
arrangement was known to the Electoral Commission.
On arrival
at Vakpo, from where they were to be sent to polling stations in the area, Mr
Simon Adzayawo, an NDC activist, who also comes from Vakpo, reported to the
police that some strange people suspected to be armed had invaded the area to
cause panic, especially on voting day.
Accordingly,
the police at Kpando arrested them and a helicopter was sent from Accra on the
same day which flew some of them to Accra while others were detained at Kpando
Police Station.
Mr Tende
said not quite long, a message was received from the IGP in Accra ordering
their immediate release.
Those sent
to Accra were also brought back to Kpando to observe the polls.
He said had
the IGP not acted swiftly, the false alarm would have soiled the elections,
which went on smoothly in the area.
Mr Charles
K. Nti, Assistant Superintendent of Police in charge of Kpando, confirmed the
report and said the police only acted on information provided them.
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Akatsi
(Volta Region) 08 December 2000
Nine NPP
agents from Accra who were at Akatsi in the Avenor constituency to observe the
elections were detained at the Akatsi police station on Wednesday.
Mr Eric
Appiah, a spokesman for the group told the Ghana News Agency that 20 of them
arrived at Akatsi on Wednesday at 5.30pm and reported to the police as polling
agents of the NPP.
He said
while going to their lodging place with a local party official, they saw a
helicopter hovering above with its lights directed on them.
Mr Appiah
said suddenly, a police jeep with policemen and two Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle
also with soldiers on board and two motorbikes pulled up and surrounded them.
He said
they were frightened and some of them bolted while the rest of them were
ordered into one of the vehicles and sent to the police station.
Mr. Appiah
said the party's constituency treasurer who came to the station was also
arrested and kept in the cells from 9 p m. till Thursday afternoon.
Mr Nicholas
Negble, the NPP parliamentary candidate said he was informed that some soldiers
who came looking for him in his house searched his room and other tenants in
the house for weapons.
He said for
fear of his life he went into hiding and reported later at the police station
to secure the release of the detained party observers.
Major
Courage Quarshigah (rtd), NPP National organiser said he heard of the arrest
during his rounds adding that the issue would be handled at the party level.
Mr Samuel
Wodah Superintendent of Police in- charge of Keta Divisional Police Command
confirmed the story but said it is being handled at the national level.
In another
development, a voter named Charles Torto is being detained at the Akatsi police
station for allegedly influencing voters to vote for a particular party.
Another
group of people said to be NPP party agents from Accra were also arrested by
the military at Ho on Wednesday evening.
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Police tighten security as counting starts
Accra
(Greater Accra) 08 December 2000
A source at
the Police Administration said on Thursday that all the trouble prone areas
were being fortified ahead of the counting of votes.
Speaking to
the GNA, the source said although the voting was successful, there is the
possibility of a few people causing trouble during the counting.
" Our
men are on the ground and will see to the enforcement of law and order during
the counting "
He
mentioned some of the trouble- spots as Teshie- Nungua, Nima, Alogboshie and
Odorkor.
"Our
presence alone at these areas should give the public the assurance of violence
free counting."
The source
attributed the success of the voting to the adequate preparation made by the
Electoral Commission.
It said
detectives have been deployed to divisional headquarters to help in
investigating cases.
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More voters complain of impersonation
Berekum
(Brong Ahfo) 08 December 2000
A number of
voters in the Berekum District complained about their inability to vote due to
incidents of impersonation and allied cases.
Monica
Serwaa, 24, and Madam Ama Manu, 50, learnt with shock after spending hours in
the queue that they could not vote because some people had already voted in
their name.
The two,
who were registered to vote at the Berekum Presby Primary School polling
station No. 2, stormed the offices of the Electoral Commission to protest and
demand to be allowed to vote but were ignored.
Mr. Peter
Gyamfi, Presiding Officer, confirmed the incident and expressed surprise at the
incident.
He,
however, said that whilst the case of Serwaa could not be explained, that of
Madam Manu could be traced to a genuine mistake made during the compilation of
the voters' register.
Mr. Gyamfi
said that, for some inexplicable reasons, Madam Manu has the same name, age and
even voter ID number as a co-tenant who had already voted.
He
explained that the name and the age might have confused the one who registered
the two and gave them the same number "thinking that he was dealing with
the same person".
The two
reportedly threatened to burn their ID cards, saying: "they are now
useless if we cannot vote with them".
At the
Boakye Yiadom Cinema polling station, a voter, whose name was not readily
available, was said to have been prevented from voting as the number on her ID
card differed from the one in the register.
Others who
possessed transfer certificates issued by the commission could not vote because
their names were not on the transfer list made available to the polling
centres.
With the
exception of these, voting proceeded smoothly with most of the queues beginning
to dwindle whilst polling stations in surrounding villages like Nsapor,
Jinijini and Benkasa were virtually empty towards the close of elections.
Captain
Nkrabea Effah-Darteh, NPP parliamentary candidate for the area, told the Ghana
News Agency that he had toured about 70 per cent of the 102 stations in the
constituency as at 1 p.m. and "everything seemed to be okay with the
exception of one or two complaints".
These
centred on worrying reports of doubtful thumbprint ID cards and the
intimidating presence of the military.
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Media
announcement of Bole results is false - EC
Bole
(Northern Region) 08 December 2000
The Bole
District Electoral Officer, Mr. Sylvester Kanyi on Friday said the electoral
results for Thursday's parliamentary and presidential elections announced on
Radio Ghana do not reflect the official position of the Electoral Commission
(EC).
"The
District EC is yet to declare and send results to the regional office at
Tamale," he said. "Only 38 out of 64 ballot boxes from the
constituency have been brought to the district EC office."
He said the
remaining ballot boxes were in transit when the vehicle bringing them was
reported to have developed a problem on the way. "We have, therefore, sent
another vehicle to bring them," Mr. Kanyi said.
He wondered
how Radio Ghana compiled the results when in actual fact some ballot boxes are
yet to arrive in the district office. Mr. Kanyi urged political party
supporters who besieged the district office of the EC to demand explanation to
the Radio Ghana announcement, to "remain calm as we are yet to declare the
official provisional results."
Early this
morning at about 04.00 hour, when Mr Kanyi said the first consignment of ballot
boxes arrived from Bole/ Bamboi constituency, Radio Ghana declared the results,
which put Mr John Mahama the incumbent, and Professor John Atta Mills of the
NDC in the lead.
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Lartey
impressed, says Ghanaians accept 'domestication'
Accra
(Greater Accra) 08 December 2000
Mr Daniel
Augustus Lartey, presidential candidate of the Great Consolidated Popular Party
(GCPP), Friday said his performance in the elections so far indicate that
Ghanaians have accepted' domestication.'
"We
have not done that badly," he told GNA in interview in Accra. "It
means the people of Ghana have accepted domestication and would like to know
more about it. We have formed the base to build on next time around."
Mr Lartey,
who throughout the campaign stressed the importance of domestication as a way
of increasing local production, won hundreds of votes in many of the
constituencies, where results have been declared. "We must grow what we
eat and eat what we grow " he emphasised at every forum.
Mr Lartey
has consistently criticised neo-colonialism, which he defines as "Whiteman
painted black government," saying that his government will replace it with
a "black man government of the black man for the black man."
One of his
most radical proposals is the creation of an Upper Chamber of parliament to be
the highest legal authority.
His party
is contesting two parliamentary seats: Ablekuma Central in Greater Accra and
Navrongo Central in Upper East regions respectively.
Mr Lartey
expressed optimism about winning these constituencies whose results are yet to
be known.
The 74
year-old candidate says he will contest the next general election.
Mr Lartey,
who was born on August 1, 1926 at Winneba in the Central Region, obtained a
diploma at the London Chamber of Commerce in 1940.
In 1942, he
obtained the Sloan's Shorthand Certificate of Proficiency and Diploma in
Commerce and Industry from London School of Economics in 1956.
From 1944
to 1958, Mr Lartey worked with the United Africa Company (UAC) where he rose to
become a member of the Senior Management. He was posted to the Headquarters in
Unilever House, London.
Mr Lartey
established a number of businesses, including the Lartey and Lartey Books and
Stationary, which later became the nucleus of the Ghana Book Supply, Citadel
Printing Press and the Federal Stores of Nigeria.
His
political carrier started in 1969 when he contested the Gomoa East constituency
seat on the ticket of the National Alliance of Liberals (NAL). In 1972, he was
appointed a special adviser to the National Redemption Council.
In 1978 he
represented the Gomoa-Awutu-Effutu in the Constituent Assembly in the writing
of the Third Republican Constitution.
Mr. Lartey
was a founding member of People's National Party (PNP) in 1979, was a
presidential candidate of the National Independence Party (NIP) in 1992 and
formed the GCPP to contest this year's election.
Sarah
Rosetta, his wife, was born on 14th February 1923.
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Hagan
concedes defeat
Accra
(Greater Accra) 08 December 2000
Professor
George Panyin Hagan, presidential candidate of the Convention Peoples Party
(CPP), Friday conceded defeat in Thursday's elections.
In a
telephone interview with the GNA, he said the results released so far indicate
that "the CPP lost in all the areas we consider as our strongholds,
namely, Northern Ghana, the Central and Western regions."
"At
the moment we have not won even a single parliamentary seat and there seems to
be no light at the end of the tunnel." Prof. Hagan said.
"We
are however not dispirited about our defeat," he said. "We take
consolation from the fact that our participation has brought the ruling
National Democratic Congress (NDC) down in several areas."
He said the
trend of the results so far indicate the Mr. John Kufuor and New Patriotic
Party will win the election.
"The
people are voting for a better party this time, and this will get the NDC off
our back and ensure the needed change in government for the progress of the
nation," Prof. Hagan said.
Prof. Hagan
described the electoral process as a free and fair one, saying that he and the
CPP consider the few reported abuses as insignificant. "Even in the United
States elections there were some abuses," he said.
"I
think the Electoral Commission did a yeoman's job," he said. "They
deserve to be congratulated."
He said
these elections have revealed the weaknesses of the CPP and posed a challenge
for the leadership of the party to re-organise to ensure victory in the next
elections.
Prof. urged
his supporters and party members to take consolation in the fact that there is
going to be a change of government.
"The
party survives- this is the time to stand firm to re-organise and revive the
CPP," he said. "We must realise that we have not achieved our purpose
there is work to do."
He said the
CPP expects the next government to usher in economic reconstruction,
transparency in governance and create a conducive atmosphere for all Ghanaians
to calve their own destiny.
"The
next government has the responsibility to ensure economic revival and a system
that eschews 'the winner takes all attitude', devoid of arrogance, embraces all
and allows all to make a contribution toward the development of the
nation."
He assured
the next government of the support of the CPP in every way.
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