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Top 7 quotes of 2016

Who were those who made the headlines with their memorable quotes this year? Pulse.com.gh has been looking at the best from the last 12 months.

So, who were those who made the headlines with their memorable quotes this year.

'Mahama is in a comfortable lead'

"With the details we have from our Parallel Vote Tabulation, President John Dramani Mahama is in a comfortable lead, and we encourage all supporters to wait for the Electoral Commission as it receives and releases the verified results to the media via its Coalition & Media Centres» – NDC campaign team.

Despite glaring evidence that the president and the governing party were emphatically losing the elections, the campaign team issued a statement claiming they were ‘in a comfortable lead’. The party was definitely not cruising to victory in this year’s elections as they also lost their majority in Parliament.

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Talk of abdication

“If the NDC does not win this election, I, Nii Ayi Bonte, would abdicate my throne as Gbese Manste”

In the run-up to the elections, the chief was perhaps overly confident of a victory for the governing National Democratic Congress. Weeks after the tables turned, many have been waiting on the esteem chief to graciously exit his throne.

Ghana is on the equator - Independence Day Brochure

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“As if by divine-designed, Ghana is strategically positioned on the equator making her the call centre of the globe. And like the sun, she radiates light to all parts of the world”

“The Coat of Arm”

“Dark Green: to represent the forests arid farms of the country”

“Address by HE Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Ghana”

All these errors were contained in a brochure to celebrate Ghana’s 59 Independence Day. Photographic evidence of the error-ridden brochure, which strangely claimed Kenyatta as president of Ghana (despite the answer being in his name) and that Ghana was on the equator eventually cost Francis Kwarteng Arthur his job as the head of the Information Services Department (ISD). Arthur apologised for the errors and then had to apologise for apologising - because he falsely claimed the ISD made the brochure. Then was sacked. March 2016 was a period to forget for Francis Arthur. Till date, official has claimed responsibility for the errors.

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Winner slangs all

“This morning he (Nana Addo) rather went on Peace FM and spoke slangs there. So I said if you can speak slangs then you should come to the debate and speak there.”

Despite strong calls from the general public for President Mahama and the opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo to debate each other, the pair didn’t. They both complained about the perceived biases of the possible entities that would organise the debate. Eventually, the president attended a debate organised by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation along with other candidates. Copiously missing from the debate was Nana Akufo-Addo. However, hours later, he appeared on radio to answer questions put to him by a morning show host. John Mahama thought Nana’s British slangs could not win him the election, clearly he was the one in need of slangs of his own.

We saw it we like it

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“This is our new logo. We like it. We picked it. It makes us happy and it reminds us of all the values that we want to bring into our work and where we are going as a commission.”

Aside the president, the chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei, would count as one of the most vilified personalities (if not the most) in the country. She caused much controversy when as the chairperson, she had to defend the commission’s decision to ‘rebrand’ itself by getting a new logo at a time when the voter’s register was still not sorted out.

When we see you we see corruption

“…You want us to see you, we see you but we see incompetence, we see you but we see corruption, we see you but we see bad management, we see you but we see bad governance, we see you but we want change, we see you but we want Ghana to move forward."

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Undoubtely the star of this year’s elections, Samira Bawumia delivered some of the best punches the eventually won the New Patriotic Party the 2016 elections.

Osei declares Akufo-Addo president-elect

"On the basis of the foregoing figures to and the power vested in me as the chairperson of the electoral commission and the returning officer of the presidential elections, it is my duty and privilege to declare Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo as the president elect of the Republic of Ghana."

Perhaps, the most anticipated sentence of the entire year was given by the chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei. She boldly resisted demands from the New Patriotic Party to call the elections for the party until the commission was satisfied with the results it had independently collated. It is no wonder, Pulse.com.gh’s audience voted Mrs Osei as the person of the year.

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