Ghana Elections

Like the USA, Ghana is a democracy and elects a new president every four years. Also, like the USA, their elections were this year (2012). With the unexpected death of their current President John Atta Mills earlier this year, the vice-president Mahama took over without much conflict or contention. His political opponent was Nana Akufo-Addo, who ran in the previous election four years ago and narrowly missed winning the presidency. Mills secured the presidency by a margin of less than 1% after a second round of voting. The political rallying between the parties went on for months, similar to the US, but not quite as intense. However, every Saturday, the streets were found bustling with demonstrators clamoring for one party or another.

Missionaries were told to stay very low-key on voting day (Friday, December 7), and warned to stay away from voting stations, due to the high excitability of Ghanaians. The night before the elections, we could hear chanting and political rallys everywhere as the sounds travel long distances here. But the next day, actual voting day, things were very quiet--strangely so. It was a very interesting process to observe however. The people had to register to vote ahead of time, and many travelled to their hometowns to vote. Many of the polling booths took place just outside of the schools, where small tables were lined up facing the street. Volunteers sat behind the tables, who checked in the voters. An armed guard or guards stood at their sides. When they cast their vote, the people would dip one finger in a permanent ink and then blot it next to the person they were voting for. The ink doesn't wear off for several days.

The people were very passionate about their elections and everyone seemed to have very distinct viewpoints about the candidates. We were a little worried that when the winners were announced there could be some contention or rioting. There was neither. The results of the elctions were not known for several days due to the difficult task of obtaining all the ballots from such obscure cities across the country. The current party retained its power and business just went on as usual. It was exciting to actually witness the democratic process in an African nation. Ghana does have the reputation of having the most stable government on the continent. For this we are most grateful.