by NIC CHEESEMAN, GABRIELLE LYNCH AND JUSTIN WILLIS
In the run up to Ghana’s elections on December 7, the public was repeatedly reminded that its country had come to be seen as a beacon of democracy in a volatile region. In a series of competitive elections, power had changed hands back and forth between two major parties without the violence that has marred polls elsewhere in Africa.
The burden of the message was clear: people would be letting their country down, as well as themselves, if they allowed the elections to go badly.
It seems to have worked. Polling day passed off almost entirely peacefully and the public stayed calm during a protracted period of counting and tallying, during which it became clear that the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) was falling behind, and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) was on course for the presidency and parliament. . .
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