As Prime Minister, he never had to dial himself. Calls were made for him, but on leaving office, he had to dial his own calls and discovered the toll it was having on his forefinger! Poor Mr. Wilson, touch screens were a mere decade or two in the future!

A Labour Leader of the touch screen generation, Ed Milliband, in the last British General Elections, lost to another child of the touch screen generation, David Cameron, who also lost out to British European haters. Ed Milliband did not get into No.10 and Mr. Cameron prematurely had to leave No.10!

Again, I read somewhere that US Senator McCain, on losing to Barack Obama, said he felt like a baby: wake up in the night, cry a little, sleep, wake up, cry again and sleep! Or words to that effect…

In 1992 when Professor Adu Boahen lost to Flt. Lt. Rawlings, it wasn’t funny at all. The great Kontopiat was so sure of winning that he remarked in an interview I heard that he was the most popular politician in Ghana. And from the crowds he was drawing wherever he went, it did seem like he had a valid point! And so on Election Day as the initial results started trickling in, it was tantalizingly pointing to a victorious outcome – that was, until the Ketus started avalanching in. He lost and carried it very bitterly. He never conceded and in that, many of us never conceded either. He was not the only loser; we, I, also lost that election with him. I voted for him! Since then, I have won and lost elections, the latest one being the one we just held – which I lost…

Does anyone remember the image of a defeated John Kerry walking into his house, lonely and dejected after he lost to Bush Junior…Or the face of Jimmy Carter during the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, the man who got him out of the White House? After Bush Senior’s “thousand points of light” and the Desert Storm victory to his credit, he had to concede as a one-term President to Bill Clinton…

After a hard fought campaign and with many positive achievements to his credit, President Mahama had to concede his way out of the Flagstaff House. I was standing beside him that night as he read the concession speech.

Some people were in tears, others seemed bewildered and well, I was disappointed. President Mahama himself was so full of bonhomie and remarkable composure that one could not help but draw energy from him. He was laughing and hugging the well-wishers who had thronged his residence when it was clear that the polls had not gone his way…

My 2016 election loss started early on voting day, December 7. By the time I got to my polling station, a little before 7am, there was a long queue. I had a flight to catch to Nairobi that morning.

A brief negotiation with the polling officials from EC, polling agents and the citizens already in the queue, allowed me to jump queue. So I was one of the first people to vote that day, because it was not long after the booths had opened. Ghanaians can be gracious if they want to. There was no objection from the NPP, NDC and other political party agents, neither was there a murmer from my fellow citizens in the queue who had woken up early to get their pole positions.

Obviously, because of my outspoken support for President Mahama, most people in the queue knew where my ballot was going…Okaikoi Central has always been an NPP stronghold and chuckling quietly to myself I suspected some of them in the queue would at best be grousing about my “wasted vote” or at worst, raining curses on me!

I left for Nairobi through Kigali (Rwanda) after I voted and arrived at my destination with one of the most debilitating bouts of anxiety and apprehensions I have ever been through. Was it a premonition?

The conference I was attending was propitiously on “The African Narrative” organized by the African Media Initiative (AMI). Ghana, providentially, was at the same time writing one of its own narratives in an election. No wonder, on the sidelines I became a “person of interest”! Conference participants were curious: Would the President get his second term? Optimistically, I would respond that there was no doubt that he would get his second term, even if it would mean a tough fight…

It was also evident that, it was not my wishes and hopes that they were after, but the information spewing to them on the internet through their laptops or other handheld devices! They knew the figures were telling a different story. I still clung to my hopes, wishes and desires. The atmosphere was choking and the conference was now turning into a concentration camp and my hotel room a torture chamber as my mind went into a torturous black hole. By the end of the conference, on the 9^th, my enthusiasm and optimism in the elections were being replaced by confusion and distress.

At Jomo Kenyatta International, as I waited at the boarding gate for my flight home, a noisy band of young men and women stampeded in. They were Ghanaians, Nigerians, and others who had also been attending some conference or the other. Their boisterousness was rather unbearable as they treated the rest of us with the kind of contempt young people in a pack often reserve for others, but there was one among them  whose persona will remain etched in my memory as one of the defining images of Election 2016: a fat, garrulous, ill-mannered and badly dressed Nigerian young man. He could not have been more than 30. Shabbily dressed in a pair of knee length shorts, loose fitting sandals and a T-shirt, he behaved as if the airport belonged to him. His voice rose above everybody else’s and anytime he knelt down I noticed the cleavage of his backside! All of a sudden, this blob turned to his Ghanaian colleague and barked a question: “So what is happening in your elections? I hear Nana is winning. That is good!” I squirmed and for a moment, feeling the temptation of asking him what business of his was our election? The Ghanaian, who obviously had been feeding his colleagues with his own predilections, said he could not confirm, but that was how it was looking. A young woman, also a Nigerian, chirped in to say she was happy Nana was winning!

I was the unhappiest Accra-bound passenger on that flight. At Kigali International Airport where I had to connect to Accra, I sat all by myself lost in my worries about what I would be meeting at home. My worries were worsened when on the flight, a few seats away from me, were three Ghanaian Twi-speaking individuals.

They had the looks of either up-and-coming business executive types or mid-range international organization types. I could overhear them and it was bad news! They were discussing how things had gone wrong for Mahama…Though there was no turbulence disturbing the flight, after what I overheard from these young men, it was one bumpy flight for me all the way home!

And so Mahama lost, and I lost. It was only an election. We did not lose our lives or country. When I voted for Adu Boahen and lost, I lived to win and lose other elections, in the end rising to one of the most privileged public service responsibilities as a High Commissioner.

Jimmy Carter went on to become the best US President-out-of office, Senator McCain continues to serve his nation in the Senate and John Kerry as Secretary of State, was next only to President Obama in influencing world affairs.

John Mahama has hit his post-election-loss life with a sprint. At the time I was doing this commentary he was up there in the Gambia trying with others to mediate the election impasse there. Back home, where to lay his head had become the subject of embarrassing and nauseating partisan posturing…

Losing at elections, and for that matter, losing at anything, no matter how small, can be emotionally draining. Elections, in principle, simply mean that we all agree to cede our individual and collective powers to an individual (President, Prime Minister) or an organization (Political Party) to look after our affairs.

Voting FOR or AGAINST is an expression of the freedom of choice and that is why after voting, winners and losers move on. Where the integrity of voting is not in doubt, Society accepts the principle and governance proceeds. The principal assumption of this principle is that winning an election does not mean lording it over citizens (FOR or AGAINST), or that losing an election should condemn the losers to marginalization, victimization and loss of opportunity. Losing an election should not lead to panic or apathy – disappointment, certainly, and having won and lost many elections myself I have learnt to take my disappointments with a sense of humour!

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By: Abdul-Rahman Harruna Attah

The post Serving my country: Losing an election [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Fuseini Issah, who is making his political debut won with a total of 28,083 votes while NDC’s Abdul Razak-Issah polled 23,617 votes.

Other candidates in the parliamentary race for the constituency; Joseph Akoto Lantey of the All People’s Congress (APC) polled 60 votes, with Matthew Kwesi Obeng of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) polling 156 votes.

Fuseini Issah will therefore take over from the incumbent NPP Member of Parliament, Elizabeth Sackey who decided not to contest the party’s primaries ahead of the general elections.

Meanwhile, the NPP flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo also received an overwhelming endorsement from electorates in the Okaikwei North constituency.

In the presidential elections of the constituency, he polled 28,639 votes with President John Mahama coming second with 23,077 votes.

The Convention People’s Party’s (CPP), Ivor Kobina Greenstreet polled 41 votes.

Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings of the National Democratic Party (NDP) and Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) polled 24 and 194 votes respectively.

The People’s National Convention’s (PNC) Edward Mahama polled 13 votes with the only independent candidate, Jacob Osei Yeboah polling 7 votes.

257 ballots were rejected out of the total of 51,995 valid votes cast.

‘I’ll win by 5,000 votes’

The MP-elect Fuseini Issah in an earlier interview with Citi News vowed to win the polls by over 5,000 votes. He said electorates in the constituency had accepted his party’s message of hope and is determined to vote out the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government and vote for the NPP.

“We’ve gone house-to-house, to various churches and school and shared our message of hope to the constituents. People must know that Ghanaians have already made up their minds [to vote for the NPP], what we must do now is to protect the ballots.”

” “I want to send a message to all residents in Okaikwei North, that the NPP is ready for power. And if Ghanaians give us the mandate, we will manage the country well and deliver on every promise we made on the campaign trail,” he said.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post #GhElections: NPP’s Fuseini Issah wins Okaikwei North seat appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, these parties do not have the interest of Ghanaians at heart and are only concerned about securing votes in the elections.

[contextly_sidebar id=”hLhZJ3cLAN1A1LdiFIG5vfp6b3KXaU5i”]He said they had no clue on how to effectively tackle the challenges that bedevil the country.

Addressing a press conference in Accra, Jacob Osei Yeboah said, he was the best man to lead the country and urged Ghanaians to vote massively for him in the upcoming polls.

“What Ghana needs is an all-inclusive governance and it must be in the hands of a technocrat. JOY stand for an all-inclusive governance and I am a technocrat, because I am an engineer. Most of the political party leaders have no clue [of how to addressing the country’s challenges].”

“Our manifesto is about an antidote of all that has been happening. Your leaders think about how to win your votes and not about how to solve the problems that you have. JOY 2012, we are the problem solvers and the best. They all know, none of them can stand us,” he said.

‘I’ll shock NDC, NPP’

Mr Osei Yeboah had earlier advised supporters of all the contesting political parties to prepare for defeat, as he is poised to surprise them by emerging victorious in Wednesday’s polls.

Speaking to Citi News, Jacob Osei Yeboah, who’s making his second attempt after contesting in 2012 with less than one per cent of the valid votes cast, said “we’ll arrange with the health officials in this country for them to arrange for ambulances in the houses of President Mahama and that of Nana Akufo-Addo because they are going to receive the shock of their lives because I will be winning.”

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post NDC, NPP, thinking of votes not solutions – JOY appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He spent time on Sunday visiting various Churches in the constituency and urging them to vote for him in the upcoming polls.

[contextly_sidebar id=”5oBGsqJCZBxMwAhfud1QFrckeeYPp3Vz”]He told Citi News following his visit to the Church of Pentecost in Asylum Down on Sunday morning that he is confident electorates will vote massively for him.

“Every Sunday we visit the Churches, we do about 2 or 3 of them. We are still doing the house-to-house campaign and in addition to it, we go to the Churches because sometimes, when you do the house-to-house you don’t meet everybody so this is to complement the house-to-house campaign.”

“The NDC won the last time with about 1,200 votes which I believe we can scale. It is a swing seat, it is full of people with discerning minds. It is a very cosmopolitan constituency and people know very much what is going one and I believe this time around, they really appreciate that time and hard and that there is the need for a change,” he said.

Some analysts have cast doubt on his chances due to the presence of the daughter of former President John Rawlings, Zanetor Rawlings in the parliamentary race.

But Mr Addision has said he will win the seat ahead of his competitors.

‘Race for Korle Klottey’

The Klottey Korle seat is one of the few constituencies in the Greater Accra Region that will be keenly monitored due to the unique dynamics and play of politics in the area.

Philip Addison became popular after leading his party’s legal team to challenge its loss at the 2012 presidential elections at the Supreme Court.

The NDC’s Zanetor Rawlings, who is the daughter of Ghana’s former President and founder of the party, Jerry John Rawlings.

The Progressive Peoples Party (PPP)’s Parliamentary candidate for the area, Eva Lokko, was unable to submit her nomination forms as she died in October.

Rockson Kofi Bright of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) rescinded his decision to contest the seat and threw his weight behind the NDC candidate, Zanetor Rawlings.

CPP’s Godwin Opare Addo is said to be making inroads in gaining support from the local people ahead of the elections.

Nii Noi Nortey, who fell out of the NPP after losing the primary in a controversial election, has also established a strong presence in the constituency and vowed to take the seat.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post #GhElections: Philip Addison takes campaign to churches appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

In a fiercely contested primary, Joseph Mensah,  polled 187 votes, whiles Joe Baidoe-Ansah had 122 votes. There were two rejected ballots, whereas 30 delegates were absent.

The primary had delayed due to the incumbent’s decision to sue Joseph Mensah, claiming that he was not a party member. Mr. Baidoe-Ansah had left the venue before the final result was declared.

However, several persons who are not delegates, were seen jubilating after the outcome was announced.

There were allegations that Joseph Mensah was once a cadre of the then PNDC regime, and that a book he had authored also made mention of the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) regime, led by Jerry John Rawlings.

However, an Accra High Court last week ruled that, Joseph Mensah, an employee of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority at Takoradi, was qualified to contest.

Joe Badoe-Ansah, had been the MP for Kwesimintsim since 2000, after he took over the seat from the CPP’s Nana Abekah in 1996.

However in 2012, he had opted to bow out of the race, until he made a sudden U-turn, when the Constituency was re-demarcated into Effia and Kwesimintsim respectively.

Knowing his strength in the Kwesimintsim area, he won the seat after returning, albiet in another controversial primary.

He had served in different ministerial portfolios such as Aviation and Tourism in the Kufuor administration. The NPP’s Joseph Mensah will come against the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC), Augustine Arthur.

In the 2012 elections, the votes difference between the NPP and the NDC, was about 6,000, whereas Nana Abekah, a CPP man who went independent polled 6,000 votes, with the PPP candidate polling a little over 1,000 votes.

However for the 2016 election, the independent candidate is not contesting, whereas the PPP has a new candidate believed to be much more formidable than their previous candidate.

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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AfanyiDadzie

The post Joe Baidoe-Ansah loses Kwesimintsim NPP primary appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking at the Independence Square in Accra to mark this year’s Eid-ul-Adha prayers, President Mahama emphasized the need for Ghanaians to maintain peace before, during and after the elections.

[contextly_sidebar id=”tXIotZeMwWlOCgIqh1PykYHoicONOzA0″]“As we gradually inch towards the 2016 general elections, we should all endeavor to uphold the peace that has characterized our elections. It is this that has made us to be described as the model of democracy in Africa. I am always thankful that Allah has blessed me with the opportunity to be the President of such an industrious united and peace loving people like Ghanaians. It is for this reason that I am very confident that once again when our democratic credentials are tested on December 7, we will respond with vigor and deliver yet another peaceful, fair and transparent election to the world.”

Hajj challenges

President John Mahama also expressed his dissatisfaction with challenges associated with the organization of this year’s Hajj.

The President’s comment comes days after hundreds of prospective pilgrims were stranded for days at the hajj village in Accra, and failed to make the trip.

Some prospective pilgrims accused the organizers of sending non-Muslims and business men and women to Saudi Arabia, only to do business and not to perform the ritual.

But President Mahama at the event , announced measures government has put in place to prevent a recurrence of such challenges.

“This year, we conducted a successful Hajj, and I wish to express my regret to all who due to certain reasons were unable to embark on the Hajj this year. This was due too many factors. One was the airlifting of 2,000 passengers from the Tamale International Airport, which was very well patronized, and reduced the quota of those who took off from Accra.

“Another factor was the dramatic growth in pilgrim numbers beyond the quota that was assigned Ghana by the Saudi authorities. I have asked the Hajj committee to request an increase in our quota of pilgrims from the current 5,424, to 7,000 pilgrims next year. “

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Uphold Ghana’s democracy during 2016 polls – Mahama appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.