Ghana's handover meeting

Ghanaian's look forward to a new era

By Kwaku Sakyi-Addo in Accra

Ghana's President Jerry Rawlings, is due to hand over power on Sunday to President-elect John Kufuor, after 19 years in office.

Mr Kufuor beat President Rawlings' preferred successor, Vice-President John Atta Mills in a run-off election a week ago.

As part of preparations for the transition, President Rawlings and Mr Kufuor had their first formal encounter on Wednesday at the Castle, the seat of government, to discuss the transition from the NDC to the NPP administration.

Focus on unity

The two-hour meeting was held in the presence of prospective NPP ministers, and current government officials, including Mr Mills.

Jerry Rawlings: Appears to accept his party's defeat

Sources at the meeting described it as "cordial and mature".

President Rawlings expressed his desire to ensure that the transition was smooth.

Mr Kufuor referred to the acrimony of the election campaign period, and said some of the harsh statements made at the time need not be taken to heart.

He said it was time to focus on the things that united both sides, rather than those that divided them.

Loyalties

President Rawlings also facilitated a meeting between Mr Kufuor and commanders of the Ghana Armed Forces, and the police inspector-general, essentially to introduce him as their next commander-in-chief.

John Kufuor: President-elect for a new era

Mr Kufuor's meeting with the military and security service commanders was particularly significant, because after 19 years in power, many Ghanaians perceive them as loyal to President Rawlings, rather than to the republic.

At a military parade last Sunday, President Rawlings said the loyalty of the military to the state while he was in power, had been misconstrued to mean loyalty to him as a person.

Indeed, the president may be right.

His party lost in a significant number of polling stations located within military and police barracks, an indication that the soldiers and police do differentiate between their professional responsibilities and their individual political preferences.

Still, given President Rawlings' background as a two-time coup-maker, there are sceptics who believe that he might be tempted to use the military where his party failed using the ballot.

But after the meetings, it seems the president has come to terms with the fact that his departure is permanent, and that doubters don't have to go to bed with their eyes open.