Late afternoon yesterday, monitoring by the Daily Statesman reporters indicated the 2020 election was generally peaceful.
As would always be expected, there were some few reported hitches. We were in agreement with former President John Mahama, who was voting at Bole, that incidents such as missing names and other disruptions could only mar the credibility of the elections if they were widespread.
Some of the incidents, by our assessment, included tyre burning at Kwesimintim, in the Western Region and alleged police brutality at Fomena (Ashanti Region) as well as a minor incident of a mixed-up of the processes earlier in the day at Odododiodioo, in the Greater Accra. Of course, that was aside of a reported arrest of a civilian from Sunyani using police registered vehicle.
Additionally, reports from North East Region also revealed some residents acting silly in attempting to disrupt the elections for alleged poor infrastructure, when all the law required them was to vote for change if they felt uncomfortable about governance.
In all of that, we gathered that the police were on top of issues to restore law and order.
As far as our correspondents reported, nationwide, the processes were generally open, transparent and peaceful.
Issues
As we all know, the raging issues were remarkable success in delivering the Free SHS initiative as an ingredient in generating an appropriate human resource base for rolling out a massive transformational national development agenda.
Again, as we all know, who initiated and implemented the Free SHS programme had been the only point of controversy between the two leading parties – with the determination of the truth by the electorate expected to be, somehow, known by late afternoon today.
Deutsche Welle network had aptly referred to the elections in Ghana as an uneven battle between a crocodile and an alligator, with the crocodile expected to zap the alligator as a matter of course.
That opinion on the part of lead German state media network was based on the global assessment of Ghana by the international community as Africa’s shining light in terms of economic hope, industrialisation and partnership.
The man in the centre of that achievement is President Akufo-Addo, who has given Ghana the greatest economic success story in the world by growing fastest.
As we have pointed out in previous editorials, John Dramani Mahama is only a passenger in the national elections as the general elections would be revealing. That is because, unlike President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, nobody remembers him for anything remarkable in terms of national development as far as impact on national, business and human lives are concerned.
From national to sub-regional and international platforms of development, he had simply remained as mediocre as the National Democratic Congress goons picked him from running mate through Professor John Evans Atta Mills’ successor to flag bearer for 2012, 2016 and against Nana Akufo-Addo again in yesterday’s 2020 parliamentary and presidential elections.
Being gracious in defeat and victory
It is the opinion of the Daily Statesman, therefore, that while we wait for the Electoral Commissioner to announce the results, all Ghanaians would relax in the hope that the true winner will be Ghana and national development.
We equally hope that winners in the crucial elections would be gracious and benevolent, carrying the losers along, while the losers dust themselves and work harder for any ‘Agenda 2024’ in a Ghana which belongs to all of us with opportunities galore for the serious and industrious as well as law abiding and hopeful.
As we already know, we remain Africa’s shining light and we need to sustain that position and credibility in our own collective interests.
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