President Nana Akufo-Addo and former President John Agyekum Kufuor
Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has sent a congratulatory message to President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on winning the 2020 presidential eections.
President Akufo-Addo polled 6,730,587, representing 51.303%, while John Mahama of the NDC garnered 6,213,182 representing 47.359% in the Eighth election of the Fourth Republic.
The declaration by the Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, Mrs. Jean Mensa, who is the Returning Officer of the presidential election on Wednesday evening, paved the way for President Akufo-Addo to start a second term mandate on January 7, 2021.
The former President who led the NPP administration from January 7, 2001 to January 7, 2009, in two successful terms, took to social media to send congratulatory message to the President.
He said on Twitter, “Congratulations to the President-Elect @NAkufoAddo you deserve it.”
Former President Kufuor, who celebrated his 82nd birthday on Tuesday, said on Asaase Radio in Accra that he had to stay up all night to monitor the results trickling in following what had been described as the most peaceful general elections held since Ghana returned to constitutional rule under the Fourth Republic in 1992.
He said he would have wished the NPP stretched its lead in the parliamentary elections, adding “but I believe that marginally we are taking the House.
“Thank God, I believe that my party has won the presidency. Parliament, I quite expected the party to have performed far better than it had so far.”
Whether he is disappointed in the results so far, President Kufuor said “…but I thought we would do far better than that…the country appreciated the party, otherwise our President wouldn’t have performed as well as he did.”
He noted that the results that had come in so far were indication of how discerning the Ghanaian electorate had become.
“But this shows that people are very discerning these days – policies affect people individually and on merit – so they (electorates) distinguish between the President and the MPs,” former President Kufuor said.
By Ernest Kofi Adu