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VOTE

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28 Dec. 2008

- Ho goes crazy with joy for Mill's victory  (03.01.2008)

- NDC tee-shirts, hot cake in Volta Region  (03.01.2008)

- NPP Agents signed statement of polls in Volta - NDC  (01.01.2009)

- NPP youth in protest demonstration  (31.12.2008)

- NDC supporters must be sober and reflective  (30.12.2008)

- Run Off - Election / Volta Region results  (29.12.2008)

- Armed robbery gangs busted in Ho Municipality  (27.12.2008)

- Chiefs petitions Kufuor against border closure  (22.12.2008)

- Planned 72-Hour Closure of Togo Border  (17.12.2008)

- Ghana Election 2008;  NPP lost 19 seats, NDC gained 19 seats  (13.12.2008)

- Past students of Mawuli School urged to assist school  (12.11.2008)

Ho goes crazy with joy for Mill's victory

Ho, Jan. 3, GNA - Ho, the Volta regional capital, literally went crazy with joy, with people pouring out on the streets minutes after the Electoral Commissioner (EC) declared Professor John Evans Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) winner in the Presidential Election Runoff.

Young and old did anything they could think of; screamed; rolled; danced; yelled and did acrobatics all to celebrate Professor Mill's victory, as they paraded the streets in spontaneous celebration. Groups of people, some carrying dummies of the elephant, symbol of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), whose candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo lost narrowly, supposedly en-route to the cemetery, for burial. A cross-section of celebrants the GNA talked to said they expected lower prices of petroleum products and edibles and also jobs, under a Professor Mills led government.

A Trade Unionist, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the incoming government should tackle the low salaries in the public sector with all seriousness. He said the NPP candidate might have lost to Professor Mills because of the perception that the outgoing government failed to tackle corruption and also to check crime, especially armed robbery. He said the issue of corruption was an important barometer, somehow, in measuring the efficacy of governments in Ghana and no government should condone it.

Meanwhile there is total orderliness in the Ho Municipal area with armed Police guarding vital installations and offices. Volta Region holds a store of votes for the NDC and had trounced the NPP at all polls since 1992, conceding a seat only in 2004. The NPP retained that seat, Nkwanta-North Constituency, in the just-ended elections, returning Mr Joseph Kwaku Nayan, the outgoing Deputy Volta Regional Minister to Parliament.

At Hohoe, NPP insignias, which hanged on power and telecommunication supply poles, were removed by groups of individuals parading the streets celebrating the Professor Mills' victory. They later converged at the Post Office Square to dance to borborbor music and drumming. At Big Ada, funerals were said to have been disrupted for sometime as mourners joined in the NDC victory celebration. People were seen sweeping what they said were the footprints of the elephant, into oblivion.

Source: GNA

NDC tee-shirts, hot cake in Volta Region

Sovie (V/R), Jan. 3, GNA - National Democratic Congress (NDC) tee-shirts has become "hot cake" in the Volta Region, moments after Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, the Electoral Commissioner, declared Professor John Evans Atta Mills, Presidential Candidate of the Party, winner of the December 28 Presidential Runoff.

People of all ages reached for the party's tee-shirts in particular and other paraphernalia of the party and in fact anything that could identify them with the NDC.

Some people, who could not get the tee-shirts of Prof. Mills, went in for the 1992 and 1996 "T" shirts of the Former President and Founder of NDC, Jerry John Rawlings.

Others, mainly young people, who did not get any party tee-shirt, removed posters of the party on walls and reposted them on their ordinary tee-shirts.

Many people also appeared comfortable in anything white, to signify victory for NDC. Driving from Sovie, in the North-Dayi District to Ho, the GNA spotted various groups of people in procession to nowhere, in high spirits celebrating NDC's victory. Almost all the groups were carrying miniature carved elephant, accompanied with wreath, supposedly heading towards the cemetery for burial amidst the singing of dirges.

Others too, were singing borborbor songs at the roadsides while they responded to cheers from passengers in vehicles passing by, with the NDC's "Yeresesam" sign.

People at funerals by the roadside had divided attention as they could not concentrate at the funeral grounds. They intermittently did the "Yeresesam" sign indicating that they could not wait to join the celebration.

In Ho, the celebration caused vehicular and human traffic as drinking spots started playing loud music. The NDC Regional Secretariat at Ho was turned into a jamboree with some party stalwarts dancing to loud music.

Source:
GNA

NPP Agents signed statement of polls in Volta - NDC

NPP youth in protest demonstration

Accra, Dec. 31, GNA - A number of New Patriotic Party (NPP) youths on Wednesday afternoon besieged the Electoral Commission (EC) offices in Accra to protest against the holding of the Presidential Election Runoff in the Tain Constituency on Friday.

They were shouting and demanding that the votes from the Volta Region should be audited before the holding of the election in Tain. Some of them were holding placards one of which read: "No Volta No Tain".

The youths, who were wearing NPP tee-shirts and other NPP paraphernalia, sang and danced behind crowd barriers mounted by the Police on the roads leading to the offices.

At a certain stage they surged forward and the Police drove them back by spraying water on them.

Sheik I.C. Quaye, Greater Accra Regional Minister, later invited them to his residence at Ridge.

As they moved from the EC offices to the residence of Sheik Quaye, they destroyed a bill board of Professor John Evans Atta Mills, Presidential Candidate of National Democratic Congress (NDC), mounted along the Liberation Road at the junction to the residence of Former President Jerry John Rawlings at Ridge.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Opong-Boanuh, in charge of the operation; told GNA that everything had been brought under control. He advised that, party leaders should take pre-emptive action by talking to their youths to refrain from acts that undermined the security of the State.

The GNA Reporter had a taste of the youths' anger when they seized his pen and notebook from him.

One of them asked: "Are you from Radio Gold? Adding, Radio Gold has been inciting the NDC youth."

Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), on Tuesday announced that because the results of Tain Constituency could mathematically determine the outcome of the Runoff, he was deferring the declaration of the winner of the 2008 Presidential Election Runoff.

He explained that the number of voters in the Tain constituency was more than the difference between Professor Mills and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of New Patriotic Party (NPP).

"He announced that the results from 229 out of the 230 constituencies that have been certified by the EC, gave Prof Mills 4,501,466 votes representing 50.13 per cent of the total valid votes cast while Nana Akufo-Addo garnered 4,478,411 votes, representing 49.87 per cent.

Thus the difference of 23,055 votes could not give Prof Mills the presidency since the number of voters in the Tain constituency was more than the figure.

Source:
GNA

Ho, Dec. 30, GNA - Mr Modestus Ahiable, Volta Regional Chairman of National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Monday urged supporters and sympathisers of the Party to be sober and reflective as victory beckoned it in the Presidential Election Run-off.

He advised them to withhold their celebration until the official declaration of the results by Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, Electoral Commissioner.

Mr Ahiable gave the advice in an interview with Ghana News Agency as the Party's supporters 'torched off' celebrations in Ho and Aflao. He said victory was no justification for misbehaviour towards others because the challenges facing the country required the contribution of every citizen.

With a few results to be announced, NDC supporters have turned Aflao into a carnival ahead of the official declaration.

Supporters of all ages took to singing and dancing as they made the Party's sign for change as motor cyclists and drivers made dangerous meandering among the jubilant crowd amidst tooting of horns. Madam Vincentia Attivor, an Aflao-based trader told GNA that Ghana was a Christian country and God would intervene when the people prayed to Him.

Mr Atchou Kuzorli, a Togolese told GNA at Aflao that outcome of the run-off was a great lesson for politicians in Africa.

  Source:  www.ghanaweb-news.com

Ho, Dec 27, GNA - The Police in Ho has within the last seven days busted two robbery gangs in two separate operations. In the first swoop on December 22, a police escort on bullion van carrying money from the North-Tongu Rural Bank at Adidome to Ho, engaged three highway robbers in a shootout, killing one and wounding two others, one of whom escaped.

Mr Samuel Tetteh, Ho Municipal Police Commander, who confirmed the story to journalists in Ho, said that the vehicle stopped at a road block near the VRA Sub-Station near Ho at around 1730 hours. He said a robber, who emerged from the bush with an AK 47 riffle, ordered occupants of the vehicles to get out, aimed at the driver but missed target.

The Municipal Police Commander said the police escort returned fired, hitting the suspected robber wielding the gun and shot at two others holding machetes and clubs. Mr Tetteh said two of the wounded armed robbers, suspected to be Nigeriens, were sent to the Volta Regional Hospital, where one was pronounced dead.

In the second case, Elorm Kofi Koto, driver, and Patrick Ahovi, mechanic, both 26, based in Accra, were on Friday identified at a parade by victims of December 20 robbing spree un Ho. A third person is on the run. Mr Tetteh said at around 1700 hours on that day, the suspects entered the warehouse of Dzialet Food and Detergents distributor at the outskirts of Ho, ordered workers at gun-point to enter the building of the company.

He said the suspects forced the workers to lie with their faces on the ground and took away 10,018 Ghana Cedis from the cashier's safe and left by unregistered motorbike. Mr Tetteh said they also attacked a the Coca-Cola distributing unit at Dome, a suburb of Ho on the Ho-Aflao road, took away Ghc 4,600 Ghana cedis, locked up the workers and escaped by a motorbike. He said the robbers were arrested at Denu, while travelling on a Golf Private Car through Keta to Accra.

Chiefs petitions Kufuor against border closure

Accra, Dec. 22, GNA - The Volta Region House of Chiefs has appealed to President John Agyekum Kufuor to stop the intended closure of the Ghana-Togo border during the December 28 Presidential Election runoff saying the action would not augur well for a united nation.

In a statement signed by Togbe Afede XIV and Nana Soglo Alloh IV, president and vice president, respectively of the Volta Region House of Chiefs, the Chiefs recalled that their protest against the closure of the border for the December 7 general election was totally ignored.

The Chiefs noted that although the government had announced that Ghana's borders would remain open during the December 7 elections, the Ghana-Togo border was closed on December 5 2008.

It said the closure denied many Ghanaians, especially those who either lived across the border or were on short visits, the opportunity to exercise their franchise during the December 7 elections.

The Chiefs said over the past week, they had been bombarded with calls from a section of the population, expressing concern that the Ghana-Togo border might be closed again before Sunday's presidential election runoff.

The Chiefs stressed that as citizens and traditional Leaders, they were concerned about the potential, present and future ramifications of the closure.

Planned 72-Hour Closure of Togo Border

Following the exposure of the cynicism of the NPP government to close the Ghana side of the Togo border at least seventy-two hours (three days) before the presidential run-off on 28 December, 2008, the government has been revising its strategy.

Latest intelligence reports picked from National Security has confirmed the review of strategy on the basis that the True Democrat exposed the details of their planned closure of the Ghana/Togo border. The new twist to the plan is the diplomatic pressure being mounted on the Togo government of Faure Gnassingbe to close their side of the border, a convenient decoy to deflect criticism from Ghanaians.

Various options were looked at among them being the tactic to shut the border around 21st-22nd December citing security concerns if the Togolese government fails to do the biding of the NPP government. At the recent meeting held yesterday by the security chiefs and NPP strategists, the other option being kept very close to their chest is to get some of the sponsored agents in national security to fire warning shots or detonate hand grenades very close to the Togo border. The stage-managed incident is to be used by the NPP government to close the border and deflect attention from the ulterior motive of denying most Ghanaians who cross the border daily for business or to work in the sister country.

With the state of panic to be created along the border and among the citizens of the Volta Region, the NPP expects to benefit immensely from the run-off. This is to be enhanced with the deployment of heavy military presence from the 66 Artillery unit otherwise known as the Medium Mortar Regiment stationed in Ho, the Volta Regional capital. A military reinforcement from Accra is also on the cards. The expected gain, the intelligence source told the paper is to reduce substantially the turn-out in the NDC stronghold.

According to the True Democrat intelligence sources, the closure of the Eastern Frontier has not only generated intense debate in the camp of the NPP, but also angered some sons from the Volta Region in the party. With the plot to use stage-managed explosives to create panic and induce fear in the voters, the source is urging church leaders and other civil society groups interested in the conduct of free and fair elections to speak out against the ignominy being planned by the NPP government.

It would be recalled that in our Monday December 15 issue, we reported that high level meetings have been held in the Castle and at the La Palm Royal Hotel, Accra on Thursday December 11, 2008. The meeting, we report on authority discussed extensively new methods to deny Ghanaian citizens living along the border with Togo their franchise. We also exposed the rationale behind the purported conspiracy to close the Eastern frontier seventy-two hours (72-hours), ostensibly to outwit innocent voters from the region who may have traveled to Togo to transact business.

The True Democrat disclosed details of the meeting to have been attended by high profile members in national security and hawks squatting in the presidency. While a son of the Volta Region, who attended the Castle meeting warned of the dangers of their own supporters turning against the government because of its discriminatory nature, the decision as to how to handle it was deferred. The deferral was done to exclude the said person from the subsequent meeting, which took place in the plush hotel.

The paper also provided readers with insights on how the NPP security operatives and big wigs riled into the pronouncements and the open condemnation by the Agbogbomefia, Togbui Afede against the closure of the Eastern frontier twenty-four (24) hours before the first round of voting on December 7 2008. The True Democrat revealed how they proceeded to weigh the options available to them, citing the possibility of the NDC machinery alerting its supporters not to cross the border a day to the election run-off. Sensing that their plan could be ineffective this time round, the meeting which included some noted security chiefs from the Armed Forces, Immigration and Customs and Preventive Service (CEPS) proposed to shut the border with Togo three days to the run-off.

With the latest twist to shut the border earlier than proposed at their secret meeting using stage-managed use of explosives to cause panic and induce fear in the residents, the NDC must sit up. In the earlier story, True Democrat intelligence further revealed a plan 'B' which is to involve the Togolese authorities. A high-powered delegation has been dispatched to Togo to discuss the possibility of closing their side of the border with Ghana. On the condition that the Togolese agreed to the proposal, the Government of Ghana is to hide behind this secret diplomatic manoeuvre to escape criticism.

Meanwhile, the True Democrat intelligence has reaffirmed the information which points to a planned massive deployment of NPP Party Police to the Volta Region on voting day with the sole intention of intimidating, harassing and scaring the voters away from the polls on December 28. The NPP Party Police are expected to draw support from the 64 Infantry Regiment. The soldiers earmarked for the exercise are those exclusively trained in Israel, Morocco and Nigeria when the NPP came to power in 2001.

Most of them were said to have been handpicked from Jamasi and Nkawie in the Ashanti Region. More anon

NPP lost 19 seats, NDC gained 19 seats

Accra, Dec. 13, GNA - The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost 19 seats in the December 7th Parliamentary Election whiles the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) gained 19 seats. Certified parliamentary results from 229 Constituencies made available to the Ghana News Agency by the Electoral Commission (EC) on Saturday indicates that the NPP won 109 parliamentary seats decreases of 19 from its 2004 quota of 128 seats.

The NDC however, won 113 seats taking a slim hold of parliament an increase of 19 seats from its 2004 quota of 94 seats in the 230 legislature.

Other parties that suffered loses in Election 2008 are; the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) entered Election 2008 with three seats but came out with only one seats; the Peoples National Convention (PNC) entered with four seats but managed to retain only two. The statistics also shows an increase in the number of Independent Candidate from one in 2004 to four.

The regional statistics indicate that the NPP lost one seat in the Western region; 16 in the Central region; seven in the Greater Accra region; two in the Eastern region; two in the Ashanti region; and four in the Northern region.

The NPP however, gained two seats each in the Upper East and West regions and Brong Ahafo Region and managed to retain its single seat in the Volta Region.

The NDC on the other hand, lost two seats in the Brong Ahafo Region; one each in the Upper West and East regions; whiles gaining two seats in the Western Region; nine seats in the Central Region; seven seats in the Greater Accra Region; one in the Eastern Region and four in the Northern Region.

The NDC also managed to retain its 21 seats in the Volta Region and three in the Ashanti Region.

The NPP holds eleven seats out of the 22 Constituencies of the Western Region; NDC holds ten seats and the CPP seat one; in the Central Region NPP eight seats; NDC eleven seats out of the 19 Constituencies; and in the Greater Accra region, NPP nine seats and NDC 18 seats out of the 27 seats.

Others are in the Volta Region NPP won one seat whiles the NDC had 21 out of the 22 seats; Eastern region NPP 19 seats, NDC seven seats, one Independent out of the 27 seats declared, with one more seat outstanding; Ashanti region NPP 34 seats; NDC three seats and two Independent seats. The rest are Brong Ahafo region, NPP 16 seats, NDC eight seats out of the regions 24 seats; Northern region, NPP four seats; NDC 21 seats and one Independent seat out of 26 seats; Upper West region, NPP three seats; NDC six seats and PNC one seat; and Upper East region, NPP four seats; NDC eight seats and PNC one seat. 13 Dec. 08

Accra, Nov 12, GNA - Dr Ruby Avotri, President of the Old Mawuli Students Union (OMSU), has called on past students of the school to pool their human, technical and financial resources towards the development of their Alma Mater.

She said "The time for apathy is over, and it is time for all of us to put our shoulders to the wheel, in order to help rebuild Mawuli School."

Dr Avotri made the call at this year's OMSU Congress on the theme: "Raising The Image Of Mawuli School: The Role Of The Old Student," in Accra over the weekend.

She commended the founding fathers of the Union for their foresight, dedicated services to make Mawuli School regain its place among the prime schools in the country.

Dr Avotri said that the holding of every two congresses in Accra, OMSU would organise a third one at their Alma Mater as a homecoming event.

Mr David Afedego, Headmaster of Mawuli School, said there was a remarkable improvement in the behaviour of students. He said that out of 425 students presented for this year's West Africa Senior High School Certificate Examinations, 359 passed in six to eight subjects, bringing the percentage pass to 84.5. Mr. Afedego said the school was first in last year's Zonal Music and Cultural Competition, organised for schools in the Volta Region and represented the zone at the regional level. He said the two-storey 18 units classroom block which was constructed with GETFund, had been completed, while a two-storey administration and library complex with the same source of funding, was almost at the roofing stage.

Mr. Afedego appealed to the past students and philanthropists to assist the school to complete on-going projects. He mentioned the construction of a Fence-wall, renovation of a basketball court and a science lecture room, and the provision of furniture and home science equipment. Mr. Afedego called for a closer collaboration between the school authorities and stakeholders towards the development of the school. Mr Nelson Agbesi, a legal practitioner and an old student of the school, gave the assurance the Agbesi Committee, would tackle the plems of Indiscipline; Moral Decadence and Falling Academic Standards among students of the School, in order to bring it to its former glory.