Prof. Mills Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of Ghana's Electoral Commission (EC), declared that Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, former vice-president and flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) led the December 28 presidential run-off with the greatest number of votes.
Dr. Afari-Gyan said Prof. Mills had 4,501,466 votes, representing 50.13 percent of valid ballots cast and the New Patriotic Party's (NPP's) candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had 4,478,411 votes, representing 49.87 percent of valid votes cast.
The EC boss however explained that the elections were conducted in 229 out of the 230 constituencies and the results obtained by both candidates were so close that both parties have agreed that elections should be held in the remaining one, which is the Tain constituency in the Brong Ahafo region, before a clear winner emerges.
“The results are so close that the results of the Tain constituency could affect the eventual winner,” he noted.
Friday January 2, 2009 has been scheduled as the date for the all-important elections in Tain, which recently had its EC office razed down.
While Prof. Mills is leading Nana Addo with 23,055 votes, the Tain constituency has an estimated 53,000 plus registered voters, meaning that the outcome could change the equation.
Dr. Afari-Gyan explained that both parties have protested election results from the Ashanti and Volta regions but the Commission was yet to investigate the allegations.
“We have said that the name of the game is evidence and today the NDC provided some evidence that will indicate the need to audit some of the results from the Ashanti region, and the NPP has promised to do same in regards to some of the votes from the Volta region,” he added.
Moments before the declaration yesterday, leading members of both parties stormed the EC conference hall and engaged in a heated quarrel during which Kobby Acheampong, a member of Prof. Mills' Communications Directorate was seen and heard yelling wild unprintable vulgarisms and obscenities.
Mr. Acheampong, swearing with foul language, accused the NPP's representatives of attempting to manipulate the results in favour of the incumbent party and in his anger, repeatedly pushed clenched fists into the air as he screamed and wagged.
Dr. Tony Aidoo, a member of the NDC propaganda team was also wailing rigging accusations against the NPP, making vows that the NDC would never allow itself to be cheated in the elections.
As the tensed drama unfolded in the EC office, several organized crowds of NDC supporters were also staging a demonstration on the road in front of the EC headquarters.
The supporters, running into several hundreds and wearing party paraphernalia, stood in the scorching sun the whole day and made it clear to journalists and a joint Police and Military team keeping guard at the EC vicinity that Ghana would be thrown into disorder should the NPP emerge winner of the run-off election.
They chanted war songs and brandished all sorts of offensive weapons, hooting at the Police whilst cheering the military.
The demonstrators got entranced in a state of ecstatic lawlessness and would brook no criticism; running in all directions, blocking roads and hitting on the vehicles of motorists; but the very moment the EC announced that there had been an agreement to hold elections in Tain though Prof. Mills was in the lead, the crowd was thrown into a state of ecstasy.
Passersby who were not in NDC paraphernalia were heckled and hooted at.
DALIY GUIDE gathered that all banks, offices, shops and market centers closed early yesterday as news was making the rounds that there was likely to be looting and disturbances in the event of the polls not going in a particular direction.
In a related development, the NPP has complained that it has not been able to account for the whereabouts of some of its party agents that were sent to the Volta region to observe the December 28 run-off.
The party's Campaign Chairman, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, told a news conference that the party could not tell if the said agents were still alive or had been killed.
“When they were attacked, some of them fled into the bush, and we hear they were chased by people who were carrying cutlasses. The rest managed to run to the Police stations to seek refuge, so we honestly do not know what has happened to all of them as we speak now,” Obtsebi-Lamptey noted.
Minister of State at the Minister of Education, Elizabeth Ohene claimed that she personally heard and accordingly reported to the Volta Regional Police Commander that some people were moving round and announcing that all polling agents sent to the region from other parts of the country should be slaughtered.
She said though the Police Commander confirmed that he had heard similar reports, nothing was done about it until the said agents were brutally attacked and chased out of the polling stations at which they were to observe the December 28 polls.
Ms. Ohene mentioned that her own brother, Dr. Sammy Ohene, a Psychiatrist at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital was one of the victims and was beaten to pulp with his eyes nearly taken out of its sockets.
She produced a picture of Dr. Ohene with his bleeding eyes and said he was still on admission.
Madam Ohene claimed that the attacks on the NPP agents were premeditated and deliberate.
By Halifax Ansah-Addo
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