Ghana, the first African nation to free itself of colonial rule, will look to enhance its reputation as a beacon for democracy at elections on Sunday for a leader who will soon be tapping into new oil wealth.
About 12,8-million Ghanaians will have the chance to chose who will be governing their country, a former British colony formerly known as the Gold Coast before independence in 1957, when it starts pumping oil in 2010.
Seven presidential aspirants are vying in the polls — the country’s fifth since the return to multiparty democracy in 1992 — to succeed John Kufuor, one of Africa’s most respected leaders who has to stand down after two terms.
But the real contest is between the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) of fiery former ruler Jerry Rawlings, which was in power until the 2000 elections.
Observers say the presidential vote is set to be one of Ghana’s most hotly contested polls and could counter negative perceptions about African democracy after the violence and accusations of vote-rigging surrounding recent elections in Nigeria, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
“This is an opportunity to test if we have come far enough to consolidate democracy,” said Kojo Asante, a legal and governance expert with a Ghanaian think tank, the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD).
“The recent elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe raised the stakes for Ghana, for Africa … everybody wants to see what happens in Ghana,” said Asante.
“I think the eyes of the world are on this election following particularly the elections in Zimbabwe and Kenya, and also in Nigeria last year,” Valerie Amos, a former British Cabinet minister who is the head of a Commonwealth election observer team in Ghana, said.
“We see these elections as very important for the standing and credibility of the continent as a whole and for the standing and credibility of Ghana.”
The two leading candidates are Nana Akufo-Addo, a 64-year-old lawyer from the ruling NPP, and John Atta-Mills, also 64, a law professor from the NDC.
A possible spoiler is Papa Kwesi Nduom (55), a businessman and consultant representing the Convention People’s Party (CPP).
The parties of the two main contenders have each had an eight-year stint in power, giving the electorate the chance to compare their respective records.
Campaigning has overall been peaceful, but “very competitive” according to observers.
The Electoral Commission has come in for criticism, notably over its handling of a voter-registration exercise that was marred by violent incidents and alleged fraud.
However, Ghana, a country of 23-million with a free press and an independent judiciary, does not have the sort of deep-seated ethnic rifts that plague Kenya.
“The political culture is open, not that there is no intolerance,” said Yao Graham, head of another think-tank, Third World Network.
Ghana, best known for its cocoa and its gold, has made significant gains in strengthening its economy, according to the ruling NPP.
The opposition NDC contends that those gains have not trickled down to the man in the street.
The country is the world’s second cocoa producer after its neighbour, Côte d’Ivoire, and Africa’s second biggest gold producer after South Africa, but still heavily dependent on aid.
Ghana’s political rights, civil liberties and media freedom rankings are amongst the best in Africa. FM radio stations have grown more than eightfold in less than six years to nearly 100 stations.
Although Ghana is generally rated as less corrupt than other countries in the region, observers say graft among the elite is a source of concern. — AFP