Applauding Peaceful, Democratic Elections in Ghana, Secretary-General Urges All Stakeholders to Exercise Patience during Ballot Counting

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General is following with great interest the situation in Ghana after the presidential and parliamentary elections that took place on 7 December.  He congratulates the people of Ghana for exercising their democratic rights and on the peaceful conduct of the elections.  He welcomes the commitment of all presidential candidates to maintain peace as demonstrated by their signing of a peace accord on 1 December.

The Secretary-General calls on all political actors and their supporters to exercise patience while the ballots are being counted.  He urges that any disputes be resolved peacefully through established legal channels.  In Ghana, as elsewhere, the most important aspects of elections are that the genuine will of the people be reflected in the final results and that those results be respected.