GHANA ELECTIONS is a cliffhanger to be decided this Friday

Ghana elections is a cliffhanger to be decided this Friday

With only 23,055 votes separating opposition challenger John Atta Mills from the ruling party's Nana Akufo-Addo, the Electoral Commission of Ghana has decided that it cannot decide on a winner until voting takes place in a constituency in which voting failed to take place last Sunday.

The verdict will hinge on the vote in Tain constituency, which is due to be held this Friday.

23,055 votes isn't bad.

I thought we had it bad here in Minnesota!

As of today December 30th, Democrat Al Franken has a 50-vote lead, after a still uncompleted recount of more than 2.9 million votes cast. 

If any of you Minnesotans remember, after the November 4 election, Republican Senator Norm Coleman had a lead of a few hundred votes.

A victory by Al Franken and the appointment of a Democrat to fill the Illinois seat left vacant by Barack Obama would give Democrats control of 59 Senate seats, one short of the 60 needed to prevent Republicans from using procedural tactics to block legislation in the Senate.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who is facing possible impeachment by the Illinois Legislature for allegedly trying to sell Barack Obama's seat, announced today his selection of fellow Democrat, former state Attorney General Roland Burris, at a news conference in Chicago.

…and they say corruption is the worst in Africa?

Many people here in America still believe that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, or should I say Justice Antonin Scalia's decision, to give the 2000 U.S. presidential election to George W. Bush was politically motivated.

Well, that's water under the bridge.  Let's move on!

The good news is that, outgoing President John Kufuor and former President Jerry Rawlings have both called for calm.

Atta Mills is standing for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which won the parliamentary elections on December 7. It is the party of Jerry Rawlings, which has been out of power for the past eight years.

Akufo-Addo is standing for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of President John Kufuor.

The two candidates were forced into a second-round run-off election when neither drew 50 percent of votes in the first round on December 7.

Anticipating a win, thousands of NDC supporters were chanting “CHANGE, CHANGE” as they called for the results to be announced in the capital, Accra.

Somehow,  I hear Barack Obama's voice already on the streets of Accra, 20 days before his inauguration!

Isn't that wild?

So is Obama paying attention to Africa or Africa paying attention to Obama?

There's a new hit song in Ghana. They say in the news that you hear it everywhere: in bars, restaurants, shops and taxicabs. It has a catchy rhythm, a melodic chorus, and a loud note of praise for our new president.

The song is entitled simply ”Barack Obama.” Recorded by the Ghanaian reggae-rapper Blakk Rasta, it celebrates Obama's ascendance as a ”great sign” for black people everywhere.

Check it out here's the link to Blakk Rasta

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L85YF0pyPH0

From Jamaica and Trinidad to Cameroon and Kenya. Wherever you go, it would seem, people of African descent are grooving to the beat of Obamania.

Groove all you want into the New Year GAIAns because
“Change is coming!”

All the best

Lou

Re: GHANA ELECTIONS is a cliffhanger to be decided this Friday

U.S. senators turned away a black man…

… who would had been the only black man in the Senate…

…Roland Burris, who was appointed to fill the Barack Obama's seat, the only black seat in the senate, was turned away yesterday by the Senate.

…but they are having 2^nd thoughts today!

 Here in Minnesota, for a U.S. Senate seat, Democrat Al Franken defeated Republican Norm Coleman by fewer than 225 votes.

 In Ghana, opposition leader John Atta-Mills defeated the ruling-party rival by fewer than 41,000 votes.  

 Prime Minister, and opposition leader, Raila Odinga in Kenya, where all the violence took place after the 2007 presidential election, said about John Atta-Mills' victory and the conduct of the people of Ghana
 ”provides a rare example of democracy at work in Africa.”

Change is coming in Africa and America GAIAns

Change is coming on January 20^th

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWcbjT9B1j0

All the best,

Lou