Thousands displaced after heavy flooding in Burkina Faso

According to the United Nations’ humanitarian agency, severe flooding in Burkina Faso has affected over 100,000 people, following the country’s heaviest rainfall for ninety years.

Thousands of homes in the vicinity of Ouagadougou, the country’s capital, have been destroyed by the waters. Officials requested international aid for those affected by the disaster.

“I would like to join the government’s appeal for blankets, clothes and food, because there really is an urgent need for these things,” Ouagadougou’s mayor Simon Compaore said.

Ghanaians elect new President

University of Ghana law professor John Atta Mills, age 64, was confirmed on Saturday as the winner of the runoff presidential election, the fifth in Ghana since the return to multi-party democracy in 1992.

John Atta Mills

According to Electoral Commission Chair, Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Atta Mills obtained 50.23 percent of ballots cast on December 28, or 4,521,032 votes, while Nana Akufo-Addo got 49.77 percent or 4,480,446 votes.

Despite the ruling party’s call to boycott, the Tain local election officer also announced that Atta-Mills obtained 19,566 votes in Friday’s special election there, while Nana Akufo-Addo had only 2,053 ballots.

Ghanian presidential elections go to run-off

Ghana‘s electoral commission announced on Wednesday that a run-off election must be held for the Ghanian presidency.

The commission said that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo won 49.13% of the vote, slightly more than the other main candidate, John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who obtained 47.92%. However, neither candidate reached the 50% mark needed to declare an outright winner.

High turnout in Ghanian elections

Officials say that a high turnout has been recorded for elections for president and parliament in Ghana.

Despite long queues at polling stations, the election has been reported as peaceful. 12.4 million voters, approximately half the country’s population, have cast their ballots.

“Voter turnout is going to be very high,” said Electoral Commission Chairman Kwadwo Afari-Gyan. “I should expect a higher number than we saw in the last elections because I could see this one is very competitive.” Turnout in 2004 was a record 85%.

Ghana to hold elections

The people of Ghana, a country often shown of as an example of a good democracy in Africa, will vote for a new president and parliament.

The current president, John Kufuor, will resign after serving the maximum of two terms in office. The elections are expected to be close.

The three main contenders for the presidency are: the Nana Akufo Addo from New Patriotic Party, who was the foreign minister under the current president, John Atta Mills running for the National Democratic Congress, and the Convention People’s Party’s candidate, one Paa Kwesi Nduom.