Kufor makes it this time

By M.S. Prabhakara

CAPE TOWN, DEC. 29. With the counting of votes in 144 of the 200 constituencies completed in the second round of the presidential poll in Ghana yesterday, Mr. John Agyekum Kufor of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has established a strong and apparently invincible lead over his opponent, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress.

At 2 pm (IST) today, the `provisional' figures showed that Mr. Kufor had secured 59.35 per cent of the votes as against the 40.65 secured by Prof. Atta Mills. Mr. Kufor led in seven of the 10 regions, including Greater Accra where, with counting complete in 18 of the 22 constituencies, Mr. Kufor had secured 61.18 per cent of the vote against 39.66 secured by Prof. Atta Mills.

In his home region of Ashanti, Mr. Kufor had secured over 81 per cent of the votes with the counting complete in 25 of the 33 constituencies. As in the first round on December 7, Prof. Atta Mills leads in the Volta Region, Upper West Region and Upper East Region; and is narrowly trailing in the Northern Region. Indeed, though reports speak of a lower turn out than on December 7, the voting pattern has not shown any significant changes from the one in the first round.

The Electoral Commission expects to notify the results `72 hours after end of poll', that is, by 5 pm on December 31. It was on December 31, 1981 that the then Ft. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings staged his coup, in reality, the `second stage' of a process that began in May-June 1979. The day is an important landmark in the ruling NDC's political calendar. The successful candidate will be sworn in as President on January 7, five years to the day after Mr. Rawlings took his oath as President for his last term.

Yesterday's run-off to decide winner in the presidential poll became necessary following the failure of any of the seven candidates in the field to secure the required `50 per cent plus one' valid votes cast in the first round on December 7.

Mr. Rawlings is not in the race having already served two terms as President. However, the elections are essentially a verdict on his achievements and failures; and his legacy. Like Kwame Nkrumah in the years following independence, Mr. Rawlings has dominated Ghana's politics ever since. As a young flight lieutenant in the Air Force, he made a dramatic entry into the political arena in June 1979 by staging a coup against the SMC (Supreme Military Command) regime, weeks before a scheduled general election which would have transferred power to a civilian government. He was however not a path-breaker in this regard.

The precedent had been set when Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown by a military coup in February 1966. After a harsh `clean-up' job - which included the execution of several senior members of the government including the `head of state', as well as two other former `heads of state', all leading members of the armed forces, Mr. Rawlings allowed the elections to go on as scheduled and handed over power to the elected government of President Hilla Limann in September, 1979. However, less than two years later, he was back, completing what in retrospect may be described as the second stage of a two stage coup, on December 31, 1981.

The most difficult task for any military ruler is to chart out a viable exit strategy, without in any way endangering himself or the structures that backed him. Mr. Rawlings began this task with the adoption of a new Constitution, the revival of free political activities and the holding of elections, all in 1992, and part of the `civilianisation' of his regime. Eight years and two terms as President later, it is now time for end game of that exit strategy. However, Mr. Rawlings, who is only 53 and recently nominated `life president' of the NDC, is unlikely to ride away into the sunset.

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Section  : International
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