"Nothing bad will happen in Tain" - John Mahama

Accra, Dec. 31, GNA - Mr John Mahama, Vice Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress, on Wednesday appealed to the people of Tain to remain calm and not be intimated by the presence of political parties and security personnel in the constituency ahead of Friday election.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) just before leaving for the Tain this morning, Mr Mahama assured the people that nothing bad would happen to them and that they should be resolute to exercise their constitutional duty come January 2, 2009 to determine, who becomes the next president of Ghana.

"Do not be afraid because the presence of political parties in your constituency is only to campaign and appeal for your votes. "But we in the NDC believe we will campaign peacefully and responsibly to win the election convincingly for the whole world to know the true will of Ghanaians," Mr Mahama said.

The election in Tain became crucial on Tuesday evening after two days of waiting for a winner to be declared in the December 28, 2008 presidential election runoff failed to materialise because the outcome of the contest between Professor John Evans Atta Mills of National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of New Patriotic Party (NPP) was inconclusive.

The Electoral Commission collated figures for 229 constituencies with the exception of Tain in percentage terms were, 50.13 per cent for the Prof. Mills and 49.87 per cent for Nana Akufo-Addo.

With a difference of about 23,055 in favour of Prof Mills, it became clear that holding the Tain election, which has a voter population of about 53,000, could affect the result.