President-elect John Dramani Mahama has warned politicians and potential appointees in his incoming administration that the Ghanaian people will have little tolerance for them if they misgovern the country.
He described his landslide victory as a “mandate” which should be a lesson to all who have the opportunity to run the country not to take service to the people for granted.
The Electoral Commission in its declaration of the presidential election results noted that with 267 constituency results available, the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) John Mahama polled 6,328,397 representing 56.55% of the total valid votes cast. His main opponent, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) got 4,657,304 votes.
The margin between the two political rivals amounted to over 1.6 million votes, meaning that if the outstanding 9 constituency presidential results were added to Dr. Bawumia’s votes, “it will not change the outcome of the election,” EC Chair, Jean Mensa had said.
Following the declaration, the president-elect said the Ghanaian people were discerning on the pressing issues and would not settle for anything less from the managers of the economy.
“This mandate represents many things for all political actors and those who seeks to lead our nation. It shows that the Ghanaian people have little tolerance for bad governance, particularly of the sort witnessed in the last eight years and that they are willing to take action at critical moments when it matters most,” President-elect Mahama said at a campaign victory event in Cantoments.
Mr. Mahama who was flanked by his wife, Mrs. Lordina Mahama and children on stage, described the last eight years as a “dark period” in the nation’s history that had “left a scar on our national psyche which may take time to erase”.
He also noted that the outcome was a reminder to the incoming NDC administration of the humiliation they risked at the polls if they failed to deliver.
