Accra agog as Ghana prepares to swear in new president

By Ben Agande, Accra, Ghama

The Ghanaian capital, Accra, is wearing a new look as the West African country prepares to swear in President John Dramani Mahama after winning the keenly contested presidential election in December which the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) rejected as being fraught with fraud.

But opposition political party, which has filed papers to challenge the result of the election at the Ghanaian supreme, is sharply divided as some elements in the party, led by former Ghanaian President John Kufour, have indicated interest to attend the swearing-in of  Mahama while  the other faction, led by the youth wing, has vowed to resist the participation of its members in the ceremony.

President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to join at least ten other African leaders and the representatives of key world powers including the United States of America to attend the ceremony, seen  as the celebration of Ghana’s sterling electoral performance in a region that is notorious for  flawed elections.

File photo: Supporters of the ruling National Democratic Party celebrate on December 9, 2012 in Accra the re-election of incumbent John Dramani Mahama .

An opinion poll of a cross section of Ghanaians showed that they were evenly divided on the support and opposition to the outcome of the election result.

A report in the Daily Graphic newspapers yesterday quoted the spokesman of  Kufour as saying  “his presence at the inauguration will be without prejudice to his party, the NPP’s stance to boycott the ceremony or of his full support for the party’s petition at the Supreme Court impugning the declaration of the December 2012 elections as announced by the Electoral Commission”.