In an eve of polls address, President Jerry Rawlings said the elections were a chance for Ghanaians to show their political maturity and confound those who maintained that Africans could not make democracy work. Excerpts:

My fellow countrymen and women, exactly four years ago, one 6 December 1996, I spoke to you on the eve of election day. Then as now, I spoke not out of partisan interest but as the president of the Republic of Ghana who has concern for the well-being of all our people, no matter our political affiliations...

We passed that test by conducting peaceful and fair elections, thanks to the good sense of our people. As a nation, we earned respect in the eyes of the world.

Tomorrow, you and I will be going to the polls again.

Maturity

My beloved countrymen and women, tomorrow will show whether the democratic electoral process has put down strong roots, enabling us to make another peaceful and orderly transition.

Let us demonstrate our maturity and our sense of civic responsibility by calmly going through the voting procedure and then leaving the polling stations for the authorized officials to do their duty.

My fellow countrymen and women, on 7 January 2001, I do expect to hand over the duties of president of our beloved country to the new person who you, the good people of Ghana, will choose from among the various candidates tomorrow to become our new president.

My very fervent hope and aspiration is that I should do this while taking great pride and satisfaction in our collective achievement of a stable, peaceful, and thriving democracy after several years of trials and errors.

Need for integrity

So when I caution against doing anything that could question the integrity of the electoral process, it is only to ensure that we do not reduce ourselves to the level of some other countries for whom democratization has ultimately become a great nightmare.

It is therefore said that my very well-intentioned observations have been deliberately distorted to serve as a campaign issue for certain political figures.

As has often been the case, some foreign organizations and governments have fallen prey to the disinformation on fraud to use it as a basis to question our commitment to democracy, which has clearly been demonstrated over so many years.

My noble citizens, for me, the loss of even a single Ghanaian life over election disputes is already one life too many...

Military won't compromise stability

The military institution and the security services in general have made great and enormous contributions and sacrifices to maintain an atmosphere of peace and stability without which national development could not have been possible.

Therefore, under no circumstances will the military precipitate any action that could compromise national stability and the respect the country enjoys in the international community.

The only interest of the military and the security services is to preserve national stability and assist in ensuring that the electoral process is without blemish.

Honest polls

My fellow Ghanaians, there is no honour in winning an election by foul means or through violent behaviour. Let us win, but let us do so in a clean, honest, and proper demonstration of the will of the people. That way, my fellow countrymen and women, no one in this country or elsewhere can say no to such a president...

Remember, this is Ghana, a nation that stands tall and proud, one of the very few black African countries that has proven that we are capable of standing on our own feet and managing our own affairs.

Any party that attempts to come into office through fraud and intimidation can only govern by fraud and violence and that will surely degenerate into another explosive reaction by the very silent majority of this country. We have come a very long way and we do not want to see that happen again.

'Momentous opportunity'

My beloved countrymen and women, my brothers and sisters, as I stand before you this evening, I remain very keenly aware of the significance of this momentous opportunity to consolidate our democratic aspirations in the full view of the rest of the world which has grown sceptical about the ability of Africa, especially black Africa, to chart a viable and persisting democratic process for generations to come.

I therefore take this opportunity to assure you all that wherever the future takes me after 7 January 2001, I will always cherish the hope that Ghana remains the jewel that it has become.