REFORM ELECTORAL SYSTEM SAYS SOUTH AFRICAN EX-PRESIDENT

Nana Akufo-Addo interacts with F.W. de Klerk 

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Former President of South Africa Frederik Willem de Klerk has asked Ghanaians to take a second look at the electoral law of the country.

He said the hotly contested general election in December 2012 which was subsequently disputed in court was a clear indication that Ghana needs urgent electoral reforms saying “take a hard look with a view to reform.”

President de Klerk made the appeal when he called on 2012 New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at his Nima residence in Accra to deliver a message of commendation and goodwill.

The former President who is in the country at the invitation of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a public policy think tank lauded Nana Akufo-Addo for the way and manner he handled himself before, during and after the disputed presidential election which the Supreme Court said President John Dramani Mahama won.

He said that what Nana Akufo-Addo had done had earned him ‘admiration’ even beyond Africa.

He said “we had a similar situation in South Africa in 1994 but I decided that for the stabilization of the country, I was not going to go to court.”

The former President said that he had taken a particular interest in Ghana adding “it has become an example for the rest of Africa.”

“Your reaction in accepting the verdict of the court even when you did not agree with the decision is admirable. It goes beyond the continent.”

For his part, Nana Akufo-Addo assured that his party was committed to the sustenance of democracy and the fight for rule of law.

He said after years of political turbulence the people of Ghana have chosen the path of democracy and he did not see why it should not be consolidated.

“Ghana has become free and open society where we are working to ensure that the rule of law and all other democratic tenets work.”

He said the NPP was committed to consensus building and added that the party will never do anything to derail the democratic gains made so far.

“We are determined to ensure that the rule of law works. We will continue to use dialogue to address national issues.”

“I am happy we have gone through the electoral dispute process without any upheaval and we will continue to remain committed to the growth of democracy.”

Later NPP regional executives as well as some constituency executives in the Central Region also paid a courtesy call on Nana Akufo-Addo where they had fruitful discussions about the party.