Nigeria's High Commissioner to the country, Musiliu obanikoro met a cross-section of party leaders , ECOWAS officials and outgoing President John Kuffuor urging them to help douse the simmering tension, and to let peace reign.
He also held meetings with candidates of the two leading parties, Attah Mills (NDC) and Nana Akufo-Addo (NPP), as well as with ex-president, Jerry Rawlings, who as NDC candidate was a two-term president.
Obanikoro had said that he believed the run-off election which took place on December 28, was free and fair. Nigerian High Commission's spokesperson, Mr. Simon Eze, told NEXT that the meetings were an appeal to all parties involved to maintain peace and accept the outcome of the run-off election results.
The announcement of the results, which was scheduled to take place at 1200GMT, is yet to be made. The delay is brewing anxiety, and there are allegations of plans to "fix" the figures in favour of the ruling National People's Party (NPP).
The BBC reported that police fired warning shots into the air to disperse a crowd that converged at the election headquarters demanding the release of the results; adding that international observers, who have given the polls a preliminary clean bill of health, have also urged all parties involved to accept the results peacefully.
Hundreds of National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters besieged the
Electoral Commissions headquarters yesterday, according to the BBC, demanding
that their candidate, John Attah Mills, be declared the winner.
On Monday, December 29, the Electoral Commission released results obtained from
219 of the 230 constituencies which revealed that Mr. Atta Mills had won 52
percent of the votes, while his rival, Nana Akufo-Addo, had won 48 percent.
The run-off election became necessary when none of the eight presidential
candidates in the December 7 election won the mandatory 50 percent of total
valid votes cast.
Mr. Akufo-Addo of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) party won 4,159,439
votes, the highest number of votes, but with 49.13 percent, he did not make the
required percentage. In second place was John Atta Mills who won 4,056,634
which represents 47.92 percent.
The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, however, has recently stated that Mr.
Akufo-Addo has a slight lead based on results from 229 constituencies.