Speaking at the STAR Ghana “End of Elections 2016 Call Partners’ Learning Event,” the Chairperson of the EC, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, thanked STAR-Ghana for helping to ensure a peaceful election.

STAR-Ghana prior to the election sponsored a number of civil society organizations, government agencies and the media who were interested in implementing projects aimed at promoting peaceful, credible, issues-based and inclusive elections in 2016.

[contextly_sidebar id=”PYJwklT2afEm4mIrPAolyq3Ykei4g7GO”]“On behalf of the EC, we want to commend STAR Ghana for this program,” Charlotte Osei added.

She also used the opportunity to “thank all the civil society groups that worked with us last year to ensure that the elections were successful.”

The EC Chair revealed that the activities of STAR Ghana contributed to the growth of the country’s Democracy and Stability.

She further stated that the EC will adopt solutions the organization recognizes to better Ghana’s electoral system.

“We look forward to learning from your experiences as you discuss them and we assure you that whatever challenges you identify, areas where you think the EC can do better, we will take those learning experiences onboard and also include it in our future programs.”

Former EC Chairmen, Dr. Afari Gyan and Justice VCRAC Crabbe were present at the learning event.

The two-day event will end on Thursday, March 16, 2017.

It is expected to bring together all project partners to highlight contributions they made towards a peaceful and credible 2016 election.

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By: Michael Tsatsu Axolu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Stephen Shandu, Richard Gyan and Awuah Amoah Gyasi, have been charged with conspiracy, forgery of official document and possession of forged document.

They all pleaded not guilty and would make their next appearance on Thursday, December 22.

One other accomplice, whose name was only given as Sly, is however on the run.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Asumadu Okyere-Darko, told the court, presided over by Mrs. Mary Nsenkyire, that Shandu is the Constituency Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the two other accused persons, printers.

On December 07, at about 1030 hours, when voting was underway across the nation, the police received information that the Electoral Commission (EC) accreditation cards were being printed by the accused at Adum and moved in to arrest them.

The prosecution said, in all, 128 printed election observation cards were seized from them, which the EC later confirmed were fake.

Shandu in his caution statement claimed that he was instructed to print the cards by his fugitive colleague, Sly.

The court refused the plea for bail by their counsel, George Fuseini.

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Source: GNA

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There are high expectations of the incoming government after Nana Akufo-Addo was declared winner of the just ended presidential polls.

After his visit to meet with the Asanteman council and party executives on Wednesday, some electorates expressed optimism in Nana Addo’s ability to fulfill all his promises.

[contextly_sidebar id=”SZ4pVqBeohtTi0t86JRn9pwP6MX7sXpj”]Speaking to Citi News, Mr. Amoah assured that the NPP will not fail.

“We’ve done it before. In the year 2000, Ghana’s debt was about $7.24 billion that is why we qualified to be HIPC. But then by the time we were living office, by the grace of God, we had been able to move this country to middle income status level.”

“We can do it, these were projections and promises, we can do even more or less or the same; but the fact is that, most of the things that we promised, by the grace of God we will do it. I know it’s not going to be easy, the task will be a bit herculean and I’m sure with the help of God and all of us being together, we can achieve it and bring Ghana back on track and bring smiles back on the faces of Ghanaians.”

Nana Addo thanks Otumfuo, Asanteman

President-elect, Nana Akufo Addo, on Wednesday reaffirmed his resolve to fulfill promises he made to Ghanaians prior to his election to the highest position in the country.

Addressing Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asanteman Council, and supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on Wednesday, Nana Akufo-Addo called for support in his bid to turn the fortunes of the country around.

He also assured he will not disappoint Ghanaians who have trusted him with their mandate. “I will fulfill all that I have promised to do. Our message is simple, we came to thank Asanteman for all that you have done for us and we pray that you continue to support us. Help me so that my presidency benefits not only Asanteman but all Ghanaians. And I thank you for the warmth reception.”

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By: Farida Shaibu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, Jerry John Rawlings publicly painted the party as corrupt, which the New Patriotic Party (NPP) capitalized on to campaign against them.

Some political analysts have said a lot of Ghanaians voted against the NDC over the recurring corruption scandals under the Mahama-led administration.

[contextly_sidebar id=”T3lZwWQwO5J9CwT9ewfhv5ffvAhLDZc6″]The NPP won with an overwhelming 53.85% of the total votes cast, against the NDC’s 44.4%.

In an Citi News interview, Anthony Nukpenu said Mr. Rawlings cannot be left out of the blame game.

“We as a party we have a founder in the person of Jerry John Rawlings and as party members we felt he should be a protective cover for the party and the government; but he chose to arm the opposition against us.  The NPP got to our heels by campaigning against us heavily on this so called corruption perception and anytime they made that claim they claimed that the founder of the NDC is the one who said the president is the most corrupt person and his appointees are very corrupt so they should be voted out. So if you have this message being used against you by your political opponents and courtesy the founder of your party, it goes a long way to affect your political fortunes. And that has been one of the tools that caused us to have this humiliating defeat,” he argued.

Why did Akufo-Addo thank Rawlings?

Nukpenu expressed anger over president-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo’s expression of gratitude to former president Rawlings during his acceptance speech last Friday, after he was declared winner of Ghana’s polls.

“One of the tools he gave them was corruption, and Nana Akufo-Addo in his acceptance speech congratulated him. On what basis was he congratulating him, thanking him so much for what he has done for him?”

Rawlings shut his doors at us but met NPP

The NDC Greater Accra Regional Organizer, also lamented that the former President closed his doors to the NDC, yet met with some NPP executives prior to the election

“We as a party making moves to have a meeting with our founder, he will not agree, but he has the time and opportunity to open his doors with Volta Regional NPP executives to have meeting with him. What is he telling the world? So things have gone bad, we don’t want to go there. I know the several moves that we made when we needed him and he turned us down. He has brought us to opposition which has been his call, so he should call us; we are ready to go to him.”

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Philip Nii Lartey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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According to the association the overwhelming votes Akufo-Addo polled from the elections show how Ghanaians buy into his vision of transforming the fortunes of the country for the better.

NAAM in a statement signed by its administrator, Courage Abiwu, said “your overwhelming endorsement at the polls does not come to us as a surprise, because we believe in your vision, competence as well as your feasible policies that we stand to benefit from at the local level.”

“We cannot afford to lose your pragmatic policies, particularly the One-District-One-Factory and others that will create jobs for our teeming unemployed youth in our various electoral areas,” the statement added.

Below is the full statement:

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ASSEMBLY MEMBERS (NAAM) CONGRATULATES PRESIDENT-ELECT, NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO

The entire membership of National Association of Assembly Members (NAAM) joins well-wishers in Ghana and across the world to congratulate His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on his decisive victory as President-Elect of the Republic of Ghana.

Your overwhelming endorsement at the polls does not come to us as a surprise, because we believe in your vision, competence as well as your feasible policies that we stand to benefit from at the local level. We cannot afford to lose your pragmatic policies, particularly the One-District-One-Factory and others that will create jobs for our teeming unemployed youth in our various electoral areas.

It is our hope that, the determination and perseverance you have shown over the years and evident in this victory, will result in bringing your wealth of experience as an acknowledged democrat, to the fore in delivering unity, security, progress and prosperity to the people of Ghana as anticipated. NAAM is solidly behind you and you can count on our unflinching support.

Once again, we extend our warmest congratulations to you, President-Elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and best wishes for your success as you prepare to take up the huge responsibilities and challenges of the high office as President of the Republic of Ghana.

Signed

Courage Abiwu

(Administrator)

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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He also said he will need their advice in order to succeed while occupying the highest office of the land.

Akufo-Addo made this known on Tuesday when he paid a courtesy call on the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs.

“In such an important job as this, I would need the advice of eminent persons like you. You are the traditional rulers of the Ga State. If I do something which is not in order, please do not hesitate to point it out to me. My doors are always open to you. I want all of you to help me so we can do a good job for all Ghanaians,” he added.

He also called on the chiefs to rally behind him and guide him.

It will be recalled that, prior to his campaign tour of the Greater Accra Region, Nana Akufo-Addo called on the Greater Accra House of Chiefs to elicit support for his candidature.

“The elections have been conducted and, as you know, I emerged victorious. So, I thought it proper to come here again and thank you for your support and for the words of encouragement you offered me.  I am truly grateful,” he said.

“I thank the people of the Greater Accra Region for taking the message of the NPP to heart and for voting massively for the NPP. Before the election, we (the NPP) had 14 seats. We now have 21 seats, and I also had 52% of the popular vote in Greater Accra. So as we speak now, the NPP is the majority party in the Greater Accra Region. I thank you and the people of Greater Accra for this massive show of support.”

I’ll fulfill my promises

The president-elect also assured to fulfill all the promises he made to Ghanaians prior to his election.

“All the things I said I was going to do for the region in my campaign, I will fulfill it. They were not just campaign or platform talk. Amongst them include the construction of a harbour at Jamestown and landing sites at Teshie. We want Ghana to move forward. Kwame Nkrumah referred to us as the Black Star of Africa. The Black Star has to shine for everybody to make it in our country.”

On his part, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI, the President of the Greater Accra House of Chiefs, thanked Nana Akufo-Addo for the respect and honour shown to the House by his visit.

“You called on us before the election, and you have called on us again after your victory. This shows us that you hold us in high esteem and we thank you for that. Whatever we can do to help your Presidency succeed, we will do it. Ghana must succeed, so we can create a bright future for our children,” he added.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Correct me if I go wrong – Akufo-Addo to Accra chiefs appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The party’s 2016 Parliamentary candidate, Salifu Iddrisu alias protocol made the call in a petition submitted to the Electoral Commission on Tuesday.

He argued that the Tamale central constituency Parliamentary election on December 7 was characterized with irregularities including over voting and results from unknown polling stations.

[contextly_sidebar id=”a4hbL82H8VOSRvpjsiIeM8zInVN70Nlj”]The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is also heading to court over the same matter after submitting a petition to the EC.

Below is the petition:
The Returning Officer
Tamale Central Constituency
2016 Presidential and Parliamentary
Election

PETITION ON THE TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY PARLIAMENTARY RESULTS

It has become clear to me as a stakeholder in the stated constituency to petition you as the Returning Officer and the commission for the just ended polls in Tamale Central Constituency. The following are my specific particulars of claims;

Over voting of more than twelve (12) polling stations. Example Manhalia polling station.
Two (2) unknown polling stations called Mallam Fari Mosque
Destruction of some ballot boxes to conceal evidence
Furnish me with all polling station and summary pink sheets as i withdrew imposters purported as my agents.

On the basis of the above, it is evidence that serious violations, irregularities and infractions of C.I 94 occurred during the elections process. This has marred the credibility of polls in the constituency.

I therefore call for a fresh re-run of the entire constituency for the parliamentary to enable electorates chose who they want to represent them in parliament.
SIGNED…………………………..

SALIFU IDDRISU
PNC CANDIDATE, TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY

Cc:
DR. IDRAHIM BARHAMA ANYAS
NPP CANDIDATE, TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY

HON. INUSAH FUSEINI
NDC CANDIDATE, TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY

BABA ALHASSAN
PPP CANDIDATE, TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY

ABUBAKARI ABDULAI MADUGU
CPP CANDIDATE, TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The party is alleging some irregularities in the counting and collation of results in the Ellembelle, Aowin, Suaman, Amenfi Cental, and Juaboso constituencies.

All the constituencies in question have largely been strongholds of the NDC except for Ellembele.

The NPP won eight (8) more seats at the end of the 2016 polls, to take their total to sixteen (16), leaving the NDC with ten (10), which includes the five in contention.

The Western Regional NPP Secretary, Charles Bissue, in an interview with Citi News, said “We are going to court. Tomorrow [Tuesday], the legal team will meet. We’ve called for all the pink sheets in Takoradi so we are going to look at them; but those 5 seats are Ellembele, Aowin, Suaman, Amenfi Central and Juaboso. On the 7^th of December when the elections were going on, we had our own plans as to the collation of our results which was piloted in Amenfi West, where we got out results by 6.30 pm; 5 hours before the EC got their results; so by 7:00pm we knew which constituencies we had won.”

He said the EC’s confirmation of compromise of its electronic results transmission process called for appropriate measures to be taken to determine the accuracy of the final results declared.

“The EC were inputting the same figures into its system, but at some point the results started changing. Thankfully, Charlotte Osei [EC Chairperson] said their system had been compromised; and I think she actually agreed with us so we are going to court, we open the ballot boxes and go for manual count,” he added.

 NPP’s claims false – NDC

Meanwhile, the Western Regional secretary of the National Democratic Congress NDC), Joe Nelson, has called on the public to ignore the claims of the NPP saying they have no basis for their demands.

According to him, the NDC won genuinely in the recently held polls in the constituencies in question.

He noted that, in some constituencies that include Amenfi Central, which is being contended by the NPP, the NDC won after an open recount requested by the NDC.

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

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At least in 2012, there were three Independent candidates who won parliamentary seats.

The independent candidates, most of whom contested in the Volta Region, and other parts of the country, lost the elections in their respective constituencies in the just ended polls.

Some of the candidates, known to have broken away from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), made no significant impact in the elections, although some have been blamed for the diminished chances of their former political parties.

Breakdown of independent parliamentary candidates

 ‘Why many independent candidates’

This year’s elections saw a number independent candidates contesting various seats. The numbers, a significant increase from that of the 2012 election, could be attributed to various factors particularly splits from major parties like the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), following misunderstandings over their respective primaries.

‘2012 results’

In 2012, three independent candidates won their respective seats with one each in the Volta, Northern and Upper West Region.

 ‘NDC, NPP disown independent candidates’

The country’s two main political parties the NDC and the NPP, before the elections, disassociated themselves from all former members who filed to contest various parliamentary seats as independent candidates.

The NDC earlier in November 2016, dismissed 23 candidates including 3 incumbent parliamentarians, for going independent from the party, after losing the party’s primaries.

According to a statement by the Party’s General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the candidates’ actions were “a breach of the party’s constitution.

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

The post Independent candidates fail to secure seats in parliament appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The media network in a report on the December 7 elections said Ghanaians struggle to purchase food and usually queue for basic services.

[contextly_sidebar id=”v9jtZCAb5qBtTMO48Zqzs6Unjp0DiJ1P”]The article, titled, ‘Ghana election: Incumbent concedes to Nana Akufo-Addo’ said; “The national economy will be Akufo-Addo’s major challenge. Oil reserves were discovered off the coast of Ghana in 2007, but Ghanaians struggle to obtain food and day-to-day services. Rolling blackouts are common and citizens often stand in long line to obtain products.”

Many social media users took to various platforms to express outrage over the report describing it as a “lazy reportage” and “falsehood”.

The campaign, which was started by Ghanaian sports journalist, Gary Al-Smith also sought to impress upon CNN to take down or amend the article saw many Ghanaians using the hashtag #CNNGetItRight to demand that the right thing is done.

Among other complaints raised by the campaigners included the wrongful spelling of “Ghanaians”, written as “Ghanians” and a false statement that Ghana’s president-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo had contested a general election in 1998.

Citifmonline.com checks, hours after the start of the campaign revealed the article had been amended.

The changes were effected at 14:02GMT with an editorial note that said, “An earlier version of this article incorrectly described the status of the retail economy in Ghana. Stores are generally well stocked, and food shortages are rare.”

The outrage expressed in the tweets and posts of the campaigners saw the hashtag trend at Number 1 in the country on Sunday afternoon.

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

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