GRi Press Review 09 - 12 - 2000
Opposition makes inroads
Victory for Ghanaians
The Daily Graphic / Ghanaian Times
Massive turnout / Large turnout at polls
Rawlings mobbed at polling station
Declare elections day holiday
We'll accept our new president
Kufuor deplores military presence
Opposition makes inroads
The Guide reports that the battle line in Thursday's elections is now drawn between Professor John Evans Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and John Agyekum Kufuor of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Initial results trickling in from the various polling stations in some constituencies, according to the paper, indicate that the two are fields ahead of the pack.
Political observers believe that vigorous campaign run by Kufuor throughout the length and breadth of the country with the message of a positive change for better Ghana went well with the people.
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Victory for Ghanaians
The Guide in another story writes that its monitoring of Thursday's elections saw the civility with which Ghanaians conducted the elections in spite of threats and intimidation that were heaped upon them before the polls.
"The most remarkable aspect of the voting was the unity amongst the political party agents at the polling stations who were seen eating together in some of the polling stations in Tema in the Greater Accra Region," the paper said.
It said its monitoring of FM stations throughout the country, even though recorded pockets of misconduct and malpractices here and there, there were no incidences that were grave enough to be categorised as chaotic or violent.
"Kumasi was calm, so were Sekondi-Takoradi, Yendi, Koforidua and other major cities," it said.
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The Daily Graphic / Ghanaian Times
Massive turnout / Large turnout at polls
Both Graphic and Times report of high voter turnout in Thursday's Presidential and Parliamentary polls in Ghana. The Graphic says although the day was not a public holiday, for most workers in the formal sector, casting their vote was more important and they, therefore, went to the polling stations, first thing in the morning to do so.
The story was not different with those in the informal sector as both big and small business people decided to forego the day's profits in preference to exercising their franchise.
The Central Business District of Accra and elsewhere were thus robbed of the hustle nd bustle, which normally intensify in December.
"The major streets were without the many hawkers, who operate along the roads and try so hard to outdo each other in attracting buyers, mostly pedestrians and passengers. The heavy traffic jams in almost all areas of Accra, which become heavier as Christmas approaches was also absent," the paper said.
It said that the general situation, no doubt, underscored the extreme importance Ghanaians attached to this year's elections.
Observers believe the turnout could surpass the 78 per cent figure of 1996.
In its story, 'The Ghanaian Times' says the polls were characterised by long queues at almost all the polling stations long before the opening time of 7 am, and were generally peaceful, calm and incident free throughout the regions.
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Rawlings mobbed at polling station
The Times in another front-page story says President Jerry John Rawlings was cheered by an enthusiastic crowd who gathered at the Public Works Department (PWD) polling centre when he emerged there to cast his vote.
The President, smartly dressed in black jeans with black and white flowery satin long sleeves shirt to match, appeared from the Castle gate to the centre and the crowd surged forward to mob him.
The President reportedly, responded with the victory sign and joined the queue but a Returning Officer at the centre obliged him out of the people to cast his vote.
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Declare elections day holiday
Some civil servants have strongly recommended that general elections days be declared public holidays since production suffers on such occasions.
In a back-page story of the Graphic, a respondent with the Survey Department, attached to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, said some people reported to work in the early hours of the day but left around 11 am to go and vote.
"The way it was, no head of department could prevent anybody from going out of the office. That would have amounted to denying them their rights," he said.
Mr Alex Dornu, also attached to the same ministry said most people were unable to return to duty because the voting materials in many places were not available in time.
A security officer, who pleaded anonymity, described the day as "a holiday in disguise."
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We'll accept our new president
The Free Press writes that President Jerry John Rawlings, in a rare conciliatory and sober mood, said in a nationwide TV and radio broadcast on Wednesday, appealed to Ghanaians whom he described as "my beloved countrymen and women" to accept whoever emerges victorious in Thursday's polls.
The President in a tone devoid of the characteristic anger and derision said whoever the winner is, be it "Mr Dan Lartey of Domestication, Mr John Kufuor, Dr Edward Mahama and Vice President Atta Mills", Ghanaians should accept him as the next president of Ghana.
The President said as he look forward to hand over to a new person on January 7, 2001, his hope and aspirations are that he would do this while taking pride and satisfaction in our collective achievements of a stable, peaceful and thriving democracy after several years of trials and errors.
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Kufuor deplores military presence
The military's presence in Thursday's elections has been deplored by Mr J.A. Kufuor, the Presidential candidate of the NPP saying; it was intimidatory, reports the Free Press.
Speaking to members of the media at Dzorwulu Temporary Polling Station in Accra, where he had cast his vote, he said the issue was of particular concern especially in the rural areas where the people were not used to the military presence in town and therefore felt intimidated.
He also felt that the electoral arrangement put up by the Electoral Commission (EC) was not satisfactory enough because his party had to spend as much as 50 million cedis to buy voters registers.
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