"Mourners gather for Ghanaian president’s funeral" Associated Press, August 11, 2012
ACCRA, Ghana — World leaders joined thousands of Ghanaians on Friday for the funeral of President John Atta Mills, who came to symbolize Ghana’s maturing democracy in a region long plagued by coups and disputed votes.
Atta Mills, 68, came to power in 2009 after winning the closest election in the country’s history. The peaceful transition of leadership after that vote was lauded as was the swift and orderly inauguration of the country’s vice president last month following Atta Mills’s death.
On Friday, visiting dignitaries paid their respects as Atta Mills’s body lay in state at the country’s State House before the burial service. Ghanaians dressed in red and black lined the streets as a procession brought Atta Mills’s flag-draped casket through the capital.
The funeral service took place at Accra’s Independence Square, near where Atta Mills had taken the oath of office less than four years ago. More than 20 African heads of state and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton were in attendance.
The vice president, John Mahama, was sworn into office hours after the president’s death and is finishing out his term.
‘‘The late President Mills was humble, honest, and peace-loving. It would therefore be expedient on all Ghanaians to immortalize him by forging ahead for the development of Ghana,’’ Mahama said Friday, urging unity.
Ghana is regarded as one of the most robust democracies in West Africa, having held two successive handovers of power following elections.
Atta Mills spent much of his career teaching at the University of Ghana. He earned a doctorate from London’s School of Oriental and African Studies before becoming a Fulbright scholar at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.
He also served as vice president under Jerry Rawlings, a coup leader who was later elected president by popular vote and surprised the world by stepping down after the 2000 election.
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Related: John Atta Mills, Ghana’s president pushed for change; at age 68
Election underscores Ghana’s democratic reputation
There were biometric glitches in the vote?
A rigged vote? I expect nothing less in a democracy.
Also see: Why Ghana Makes the AmeriKan MSM Papers
Yeah, "Oil was discovered in 2007 and the country began producing it in
December 2010. But a deep divide still exists between those benefiting
from the country’s oil, cocoa and mineral wealth, and those left behind
financially."
