A close watch on Ghana’s election

(How did the voting go?) The voting seems to have gone off smoothly. There were some problems here and there, with reports of sporadic violence. But all in all, the election went off very well and helps Ghana maintain its reputation as a country able to hold safe, transparent and credible elections. (What is at stake here?) Ghana looking inward, what’s important for this election is the recent discovery of oil off the coast of Ghana. It means whoever becomes president and has power stands over a country with great economic wealth, and the ability to perhaps deliver on promises with a kind of newfound revenue that they’ll get from those oilfields. (I’m assuming that that will increase Ghana’s economic power within Africa and the rest of the world?) That’s something the world is looking towards: another stable source of energy. Ghana had been a leading producer of cocoa and gold, so this is another resource. But they also know that if they don’t get the kind of production they’re expecting, it could lead to violence and instability, as happened with Nigeria. (Is there any concern that there might be violence and is the government doing anything to diffuse that?) The opposition has already said they believe their candidate is in the lead and then they were urging their supporters to remain calm despite reports that the government is trying to steal the election. That’s obviously volatile language and the election commission have only said they’re not to give an official count yet. the unofficial reports say it’s close. But so far, everything does remain quiet.