Kofi Annan calls on 'the losers' in Ghana to concede quickly

Ghana

Former United Nations Secretary-General, Ghanaian Kofi Annan has called on his country’s presidential candidates to remain calm as they wait for the results from the Electoral Commission but concede quickly to defuse tensions.

He applauded the five presidential candidates who had conceded on Thursday by congratulating main opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo.

“In the spirit of democracy, I call on the losers to concede as quickly as possible to defuse tensions and allay uncertainties … The people of Ghana are waiting and watching, let’s not disappoint them,” he said in a statement on Friday.

I congratulate the Election Commission and the people of Ghana on an election worthy of our democratic tradition…https://t.co/DyLVQh6r0S pic.twitter.com/sXwc32YAhe

— Kofi Annan (@KofiAnnan) December 9, 2016

Kofi Annan congratulated the Electoral Commission and Ghanaians for an election “worthy of our democratic tradition”.

Meanwhile, the current yet outgoing Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon has called on all the presidential candidates to maintain peace as demonstrated by their signing of a Peace Accord on 1 December.

“The Secretary-General calls on all political actors and their supporters to exercise patience while the ballots are being counted. He urges that any disputes be resolved peacefully through established legal channels,” a statement from his spokesman read.

Ki-moon further emphasized on the respect of results which reflect the genuine will of the people.

#UNSG Ban Ki-moon congratulates the people of #Ghana on the peaceful conduct of the elections https://t.co/NB03TFZVst

— UN Spokesperson (@UN_Spokesperson) December 9, 2016

Ghana’s local media has declared the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) leader Nana Akufo-Addo as winner of the election per their provisional figures corroborated by the opposition party’s figures.

The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has also claimed victory and the incumbent President John Mahama has promised on Friday that he will accept the results of the Electoral Commission no matter which way it goes.

The Electoral Commission announced Friday morning that it has results of over 200 constituencies and will declare thr results on Saturday.