The Ashesi Student Council (ASC) and Judicial and Electoral Committee (JEC) elections are over and Ashesi’s student body has welcomed a new set of leaders. Kudos to Melvin Akaba and Sandra Osei-Poku for winning the ASC elections, and to Albert Asiamah and Andria Abraham for winning the JEC elections.

In retrospect, the competition was healthy and professional. It is hard to forget that student mailboxes were inundated with a myriad of campaign messages and class times were interrupted in order to give the at-the-time prospective candidates the opportunity to communicate to prospective voters. For a few short weeks, campaign posters were pasted onto nearly every edifice that was Ashesi’s property.

The climax of it all was the presidential debate, where candidates were pitted against one another, but also against the sharp questions and opinions that came from the audience. Both students and faculty listened and then fired back queries which kept the candidates thoroughly on their toes throughout the entire evening. Eventually, the charisma of Melvin and cool-headedness of Sandra proved to be the clinchers, allowing the two of them to claim victory.

Though only one team took the presidency, the well thought out policies on which the candidates campaigned — such as Phoebe’s “Know Ghana” drive and Afua’s “Buddy System” — displayed the creativity, compassion and intellect of all the candidates who contested. In that regard, it was more than a mere victory for the winning pair; it was a victory for the values of leadership, citizenship and scholarship displayed by all who took part.