Politics is like sport here. People roam the street clad head-to-toe in
their party colours, as if going to a football game. They cheer and
dance to campaign tunes and sit in the back of utes shouting rhetoric
through mega-phones. Politicians plaster their faces on giant billboards and party merchandise is sold on every street corner. Politics is a big deal in Ghana and the country's current democratic stability means the stakes are high when Ghanaians go
to the polls.
Ghana held its general elections on December 7th and I was lucky enough to be reporting on a 'flashpoint' constituency, Odododiodio. The name itself was ominous but the biggest challenge we faced all day was how to pronounce it!
Waking up early, we hit some of the 116 polling stations with our green 'access all areas' media passes. Our job was to ask presiding officers how the day had transpired and take down figures of voter turn out. Of course, we had to sniff out any brawls or blatant stuffing of ballot boxes, neither of which happened.
We twisted and turned through Jamestown (housing many boxers who like to pick fights - apparently), crossed a very black, icky, muddy river bank and wandered through slums to reach tiny polling stations. Market women waved inky fingers and the more eager lined up from 2am, when the polls opened at 7! Granted, the elections were surrounded by much apprehension from Ghanaians, terrified the polls could turn violent like in Kenya or Zimbabwe.
We were privy to watching the public count of thumb prints on ballot papers. And voters anxiously waited for the results at the collation centre. Hearing constant updates, revelers could see the NDC party(the incumbant in that area) had won the parliamentary vote and supporters dusted their faces with white powder - claiming victory!
The Electoral Commission had 72 hours to declare the official parliamentary and presidential results for the whole country and on Wednesday afternoon, it announced that Ghana had no president. Neither of the two leading parties (NPP and NDC) had received the required 50 per cent plus one vote. The race was extremely tight - so much so that the country will return to the polls on December 28 and sadly, I will miss the announcement of Ghana's new president.
