The international community has praised Ghana for its democratic strides as she inaugurates her sixth President of the fourth Republic, noting that the milestone chalked by the West African nation represented hope for the continent.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, addressing Parliament during the swearing in of Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama, at the Independence Square, Accra, said the evolution of the country’s democracy was welcoming.
“This moment is a source of pride and honour for Ghanaians, the entire continent and its diaspora,” he told the well-attended programme.
More than 20 Heads of State and five former Presidents were present at the programme as well as Members of the Diplomatic Corps.
The event officially ends the eight-year tenure of the octogenarian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, an ardent believer in the rule of law.
It is the ninth time the West African nation has successfully gone through the polls under the Fourth Republican Constitution, a feat well cherished in the sub-Region which has for some years now witnessed the deterioration of democracy.
President Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) polled 6, 328, 397, representing 56. 55 of the total valid votes cast in 267 out of 276 constituencies to be declared the winner in Ghana’s December 07 elections.
He beat the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who polled 4, 657, 304, representing 41.61 per cent of the total valid votes cast, and would go on to be sworn in as the sixth President of the fourth Republic.
The results of some two constituencies are yet to be added to the officially declared results.
Nigerian President Tinubu, the Guest Speaker, was hopeful that there were better times ahead for Africa and that there was the need for the people to work together to overcome the challenges ahead.
“I see today a black star rising, rising high in the African sky,” he noted, adding that with unity and devotion, the continent could go places.
The continent had a lot of potential to make her people better, reminding the people of who they were and who they could be in the years ahead.
Ghana’s economic woes dominated the December 07 elections, after the continent’s top gold producer and world’s second cocoa exporter went through a crisis of default and currency devaluation, ending with a US$3 billion IMF bailout.
Nigerian President Tinubu lauded President Mahama for his patriotism and visionary leadership.
“He loves his people and nation to the core,” he noted, and urged the people to give him the necessary support.
GNA