The spokesman of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eric Chevallier, Monday commended the transparency and consistency of the presidential elections in Ghana, noting “that the Ghanaian people showed, once again, their attachment to democracy.”
Opposition candidate Professor John Atta Mills, candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), emerged victorious at the end of the crunchy polls, with 50.23 per cent of votes against his opponent, Nana Akufo-Addo, who accepted defeat and congratulated the newly elected president.
“France is delighted by the rooting in Ghana of the values which we share with this friendly country,” Chevallier said, at a press conference in Paris, France.
According to him, “this election – like the withdrawal of John Kufuor and the acceptance of the results by Mr. Akufo-Addo in respect of the constitution – is an example for Africa.”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Saturday congratulated the new Ghanaian president who will take office Wednesday.
“At the end of your remarkable campaign and while the Ghanaian people have just granted its confidence to you, I am keen to present my most cordial congratulations to you,” the French President stated in his congratulatory letter.
Sarkozy said he was persuaded Mills will lead Ghana towards fresh progress “in the respect of the institutions and freedoms which characterise Ghana from now on in the eyes of the international community.”
“I present to you on this occasion, my wishes of every success in the continuation of an endeavor which right now made of Ghana an example for Africa,” concluded Sarkozy.
Several other heads of state also congratulated Mills, a 64-year old lawyer who succeeds President Kufuor at the end of his two four-year mandate.
