The day we all have been waiting for is finally here. Ghana went to the polls over the weekend and have chosen their leader. President elect of the country has finally been announced and there is jubilation in town. Accra has been buzzing with victory songs all this while since counting began. Although the electoral process was smooth, there were a few violence here and there which marred the peace in those constituencies. All the same, it has ended on a good note and Ghana has won again.

Voter turnout

Voter turn out was rather low across all regions which somehow affected the results. Most people seem to have left the country to seek for greener pastures. Otherwise, it could just mean people are fed up with the government in power and was really looking for change. We all like change, the only thing which is constant in life. The winning party too did a lot of grounds work. And I must say they really did a lot of campaign to get to where they are.

People Decide

I saw a hilarious video of a man who stood in the voting booth raining insults on the candidates before finally casting his vote. It is a trending video and you must have seen it too. But that tells of the frustrations of the people and why they decided to change government hands. You see, we must not be oblivious of the hardships that the majority of citizens face from fuel prices to prices of goods and services. Major issues and grievances was against e-levy  and galamsey.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere in town the past few weeks have been really tense but shockingly quite. Many people have not been in the capital city which was rather shocking as most fled to their hometowns to cast their votes. The usual bustling Accra city has been very calm this period (at least from where I sit) and I hope it comes back to life as the Yuletide approaches.

Concession speech

Most people have congratulated the incumbent presidential candidate for his quick decision to do the needful once he realized they had lost power. To me, that move was a show of statemanship and a move to uphold the democracy that the nation enjoys. Kudos to him for his show of patriotism. The atmosphere really eased up after that speech and although people have trolled him for doing that too quickly, it has rather heightened my respect for him.

EC Declares

Today was an historic day seeing the Electoral Commission become so transparent in their dealings. The live broadcast from the Coalition centre was a good move. The various guests from international organizations and other political parties was really inspiring to watch. And as was announced by the television host, it seems to be the first of it’s kind. According to sources, the delay was as a result of some mishaps in the collation centres in some regions. However, after the final declaration by the EC  Chair, calm was indeed restored as tension was building up, with some factions thinking there was going to be a change in the results.