Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President-elect of the Republic of Ghana on Friday assured the nation that he would be a leader for all Ghanaians irrespective of their political leanings, creed or ethnicity.

“Fellow Ghanaians you have not elected me to serve one party but to serve the entire nation. The president of Ghana is the president for every single Ghanaian without discrimination, malice or ill-will to any ethnic group or political or religious affiliation,” he said while addressing teeming party supporters and the media moments after the Electoral Commission declared him winner of the 2016 presidential election.

“Whether you supported me or not; whether you campaigned for me or not; whether you voted for me or not, I can promise you one thing…I will do my best to serve your interest and put our country back on the path of progress and prosperity”.

“God did not put us on this rich land… a land blessed with an abundance of human and natural resources to be poor.

“I am confident and I have faith that with God’s guidance and your active help and hard work we will move our country forward… together we will change Ghana and use all the blessing that the almighty has bestowed on us to bring prosperity to our people and nation in our time.

“Together we can fulfil the destiny of Ghana…the destiny of freedom, justice and prosperity that the ancestors and founders of our nation defined for us.

President–elect Akufo Addo asked supporters and sympathisers to be magnanimous in victory and to observe the rule of law.

“I entreat supporters to respect the peace and the property and life of everybody, especially those of our political opponents….we are the party of the rule of law and we should act accordingly with magnanimity in our moment of victory”,” he said to thunderous cheers from supporters.

The president-elect, resplendent in white and flanked by his Vice president-elect, Dr Mahamudu Bawamia, and his wife, Rebecca, his daughters and party bigwigs, commended the Electoral Commission for ensuring a peaceful conduct of the polls and for doing so in a professional manner, saying the Commission and its Commissioner has “strengthened the principles of democratic accountability” in Ghana’s body politicks, and “that was what the nation expected of them.”

He commended Dr Bawumia for “believing in me” and for the unwavering support he had given him during the long struggle to winning the elections, adding that together they would work to fulfil the expectations of all Ghanaians.

Nana Akufo Addo polled 5,716,020 votes representing 53.85 percent to beat the incumbent President John Dramani Mahama who got 4,713,277 votes representing 44.04 percent of total votes cast.

Total votes casts in the 2016 presidential elections was 10,781, 609.