US, Ghana set for historic elections
Both the United States of America (USA) and the Republic of Ghana are in interesting times. Both countries are set to make history as they go to the polls this November and December respectively irrespective of who wins as president in each country.
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Historic elections
In the USA, where the elections takes place on Tuesday, the country is set to elect a historic leader – First woman President of the USA Mrs Hillary Clinton or the first-ever president of the USA unique in lacking the public-service background, Mr Donald Trump.
The fact remains that whether the 45th President is Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, the USA is turning a new leaf. The good thing is that the USA is matured in democracy and so, after Tuesday, all Americans will rally around whoever will be elected.
Bitterness and rancour
That is in spite of nearly two years of bitterness and rancour, sometimes near nasty, but the American people understand the game. They know that after Tuesday, all that shall come to an end.
That is why many people were taken aback when the Republican candidate Mr Trump was quoted as saying that he would only accept the elections as free and fair if he wins. That prompted President Obama to described that statement by Mr Trump as “dangerous and undermines the American democracy.”
The interesting thing is that the US knows exactly what it is doing and that explains why even before the casting of the first ballot; the country has set November 9, 2016 as the 2016 US Presidential Election Breakfast Celebration. For the American, the message is simple – Whoever that wins the elections will be accepted as a win for America.
A win by President Mahama
The similarities between the US and Ghana’s 2016 presidential elections is that, a John Mahama win will be historic as the only president in the history of the country to have served as President for more than eight years. A lose by President Mahama will be historic because that will be the first time in the history of the country for a sitting president to lose an election and handover to an opposition.
A win by Nana Akufo-Addo
A win by Nana Akufo-Addo will be historic. He will be the first-ever president to have unseated a sitting president in a competitive election. A lose by Nana Addo will be historic because, he would have been the first-ever candidate vying for the presidency in the Busia-Danquah tradition to have lost an election three consecutive times.
These explain why the stakes are so high in both US and Ghana in the 2016 presidential elections.
Any lessons for Ghana
Luckily, the US is going to the polls Tuesday, a month ahead of Ghana. The question is, what lesson can Ghana learn from the US moving forward? Are we going to see a smooth election process devoid of disagreements, inciting of supporters, intimidations and all the negatives associated with elections? Can we beat our chests to say proudly that whoever that wins the elections will be accepted as a win for Ghana? We wait to see as events unfold towards December 7, 2016.
Ghana has always been described as the trail blazer in democracy and this is the time to showcase to the whole world that we have arrived and that democracy is here to stay.
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