President Akufo-Addo rallies Ghanaians to deepen excellent democratic credentials

President Nana Akufo-Addo has implored Ghanaians to further deepen the country’s excellent democratic credentials as they go to the polls Monday, December 7, 2020 to elect a President and 275 Parliamentarians.

Tuesday’s general election is the eighth for Ghanaians in the Fourth Republican dispensation, and according to the President who addressed the nation on the eve of the polls, if the successful special voting exercise held recently as part of Monday’s exercise is anything to go by, then he has no doubt Ghanaians can only do better.

“We have had five (5) Presidents in the history of this 4th Republic, with peaceful transfers of power from a governing to an opposition party on three separate occasions. Redress at the Supreme Court was sought, rather than recourse to street protests and agitations, when there was dispute over the outcome of an election. Tomorrow, we have yet another opportunity to deepen further these excellent credentials”, he said.

The President, buoyed by assurances of a successful process by the Electoral Commission and peace and security by the security forces, said it is in collective interest of the people to help ensure that the exercise passes off “in an orderly, peaceful, and transparent manner”, where “At the end of the day, there should be no lingering question about the legitimacy of the election, and the winning candidate, at the end of the process, should receive the unalloyed support of all. That is how we can strengthen our democracy and the peace and stability of our nation.”

President Akufo-Addo also reminded all of the continued presence and threat of the new coronavirus pandemic and urged a strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols put in place at all 38,622 polling stations, adding that “We should, therefore, not panic or be afraid. Many countries around the world have conducted elections within this period, and I have no doubt that Ghana will join those nations in organizing a successful general election, even in the midst of the virus.”

He also cautioned against any improper behaviour and said the security agents will deal with offenders no matter their political colour.

The President said “In view of the happenings on the continent, and, indeed in West Africa, the entire world is looking up to us to maintain our status as a beacon of democracy, peace and stability. In this 4th Republic, we have had the longest, uninterrupted period of stable, constitutional governance in our history, banishing the spectre of instability that disfigured the early years of our nation’s existence, and the benefits are showing. Together, let us continue to lay the platform for the evolution of a new Ghanaian civilisation, which will give true meaning to the foundational values of freedom and justice on which our nation was conceived by its far-sighted, visionary founders.”

President Akufo-Addo said the destiny of Ghanaians beckons, and rallied the people to be “up and doing” because “we can do it”, praying also that God may bless Ghanaians and the country, and make her great and strong.
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