Ho goes crazy with joy for Mill's victory

Ho, Jan. 3, GNA - Ho, the Volta regional capital, literally went crazy with joy, with people pouring out on the streets minutes after the Electoral Commissioner (EC) declared Professor John Evans Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) winner in the Presidential Election Runoff.

Young and old did anything they could think of; screamed; rolled; danced; yelled and did acrobatics all to celebrate Professor Mill's victory, as they paraded the streets in spontaneous celebration. Groups of people, some carrying dummies of the elephant, symbol of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), whose candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo lost narrowly, supposedly en-route to the cemetery, for burial. A cross-section of celebrants the GNA talked to said they expected lower prices of petroleum products and edibles and also jobs, under a Professor Mills led government.

A Trade Unionist, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the incoming government should tackle the low salaries in the public sector with all seriousness. He said the NPP candidate might have lost to Professor Mills because of the perception that the outgoing government failed to tackle corruption and also to check crime, especially armed robbery. He said the issue of corruption was an important barometer, somehow, in measuring the efficacy of governments in Ghana and no government should condone it.

Meanwhile there is total orderliness in the Ho Municipal area with armed Police guarding vital installations and offices. Volta Region holds a store of votes for the NDC and had trounced the NPP at all polls since 1992, conceding a seat only in 2004. The NPP retained that seat, Nkwanta-North Constituency, in the just-ended elections, returning Mr Joseph Kwaku Nayan, the outgoing Deputy Volta Regional Minister to Parliament.

At Hohoe, NPP insignias, which hanged on power and telecommunication supply poles, were removed by groups of individuals parading the streets celebrating the Professor Mills' victory. They later converged at the Post Office Square to dance to borborbor music and drumming. At Big Ada, funerals were said to have been disrupted for sometime as mourners joined in the NDC victory celebration. People were seen sweeping what they said were the footprints of the elephant, into oblivion.