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Salim lauds Ghana for peaceful vote
Accra, Dec. 16. Ghanadot/GNA - The former
Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU),
now the African Union (AU), Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, has paid
tribute to Ghanaians for a peaceful and orderly election.
He was speaking at a luncheon organised in his honour by the
Secretary-General of the Pan African Writers’ Association (PAWA),
Prof. Atukwei Okai, in Accra at the weekend Friday.
Dr. Salim, who was in the country as the chairman of the
African Union Observer Mission, during the first round of
elections observed that the peaceful manner in which
Ghanaians went to the polls underscored the fact that the
African had the capacity to achieve the desirable and the
positive as well as everything that was in the interest of
the development of the African continent.
A statement by PANA said Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, who is the
Chairman of the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Foundation, said that
he was amazed by the “unshakable patience of the Ghanaian
people” as exhibited by the peaceful manner in which they
went about casting their votes, considering the almost
eternally long queues which showed no signs of diminishing
even as the day wore on.
Dr. Salim said this Ghanaian achievement, an African
achievement, was both an inspiration and a source of pride.
He was hopeful that the second round of elections would be
equally peaceful.
The PAWA Secretary-General, who was joined at the
discussions by Mr Lakhal Benkelai, the Algerian Ambassador
and Mr. Ato Cham Uriat, the Ethiopian Ambassador, expressed
the appreciation of the Association to the AU, especially to
Dr. Salim, who, during his tenure of
office, provided support to PAWA in various ways.
The Secretary-General briefed Dr. Salim on the activities of
the Association and on its most recent programme, the 16th
International African Writers’ Day, which was instituted by
the OAU during his tenure.
This annual celebration is to afford the African society a
moment of pause, during which the African people would
signal their appreciation of the contribution of African
writers to the continent’s advancement.
GNA
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