Saturday, October 31, 2015

2016 ELECTIONS LIKELY TO UNDERGO A RUN-OFF!

It is there all eyes on the ballots boxes waiting till 5:00 PM for counting. Hope you casted your vote? You heard me right that was all the imaginations of Bernard Ralph Adams. On 7th November, 2016 all the propagandas and ‘politricks’ the political parties in Ghana are doing will take a new form. Elections in Ghana cannot be complete without citing the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) as the main factors in elections in Ghana. With this I write up my piece concerning election 2016 and the possible victor. A man without a past is nobody so the saying goes 2016 elections will be a history in a making despite certain pressure groups mountain pressure on the Electoral Commission to change the voter register and inter party conflicts. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has a dream of winning 1,000,000 votes in the Ashanti Region described as the “world bank” of the New Patriotic Party. Pollsters in and outside Ghana has in one or two ways predicts the outcomes of elections in Ghana which came to pass. In the year 1992 saw five people contesting for the presidential elections and after the election here were the verdict Jerry John Rawlings of National Democratic Congress 2,323,135 representing 58.4% Albert Adu Boahen of New Patriotic Party 1,204,764 representing 30.3% Hilla Limann of People’s National Convention 266,710 reoresenting 6.7%, Kwabena Darko of National Independence Party 113,629 representing 2.9%, Emmanuel Erskine of People Heritage Party 69,827 representing 1.8%. J.J Rawlings was declared the winner. In 1996 three political parties contested including the likes of National Democratic Congress (NDC), New Patriotic Party (NPP) and People’s Convention (PNC) Jerry John Rawlings of NDC had 4,099,758 representing 57.4% John Kuffour of NPP had 2,834,878 representing 39.7%, Edward Mahama 211,136 representing 3.0%. Jerry John Rawlings won for the 2nd time. In the year 2000 the then president Jerry John Rawlings brought his term of office to an end. And elections were held and this were the results John Kuffour of New Patriotic Party had 3,131,739 representing 48% John Mills of National Democratic Congress 2,895,575 representing 44.54%, Edward Mahama People’s National Convention had 189,659 representing 2.92%, George Hagan Convention’s People Party had 115,641 representing 1.78%, Augustus Obuabum Tanoh National Reform Party 78,620 representing 1.21% , Dan Lantey of Great Consolidated Popular Party 67,504 representing 1.04% Charles Wereko Brobby United Ghana Movement had 22,123 representing 0.34%. But since per the 1992 Constitution of the Republic a candidate need to get 50 + 1 vote, no candidate won so a second run of election (Run-off) was held between New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) and these were the results of the run-off NPP 3,631.263 representing 56.90% and NDC 2,750,124 representing 43.10%. NPP led be John Kuffour was declared victor Candidate Party Votes % John Kufuor New Patriotic Party 4,524,074 52.45 John Atta Mills National Democratic Congress 3,850,368 44.64 Edward Mahama Grand Coalition 165,375 1.92 George Aggudey Convention People's Party 85,968 1.00 I Mr John Kuffour and NPP was again declared as the winner Ghanaian presidential election, 2008 • v • t • e Party Candidate First round Second round Votes Percentage Votes Percentage National Democratic Congress John Atta Mills 4,056,634 47.92% 4,521,032 50.23% New Patriotic Party Nana Akufo-Addo 4,159,439 49.13% 4,480,446 49.77% Convention People's Paa Kwesi Nduom 113,494 1.34% People's National Convention Edward Mahama 73,494 0.87% Democratic Freedom Emmanuel Ansah-Antwi 27,889 0.33% Independent Kwasi Amoafo-Yeboah 19,342 0.23% Democratic People's Thomas Ward-Brew 8,653 0.10% Reformed Patriotic Democrats Kwabena Adjei 6,889 0.08% Candidate Party Votes % John Dramani Mahama National Democratic Congress 5,574,761 50.70 Nana Akufo-Addo New Patriotic Party 5,248,898 47.74 Paa Kwesi Nduom Progressive People's Party 64,362 0.59 Henry Herbert Lartey Great Consolidated Popular Party 38,223 0.35 Ayariga Hassan People's National Convention 24,617 0.22 Michael Abu Sakara Foster Convention People's Party 20,323 0.18 Jacob Osei Yeboah Independent 15,201 0.14 Akwasi Addai Odike United Front Party 8,877 0.0 National Democratic Congress has reached the usually eight years as elections in Ghana has always been, New Patriotic Party is working behinds doors to win power. The ultimate question is will NDC lose power to NPP or retain power? From the statics above there is no doubt that presidential election in Ghana 2016 will be a run-off, if history always repeat itself.