An African Election

In late 2008, the people of the African nation of Ghana prepared to go to the polls and choose their next president, with Nana Akufo-Addo of the right-leaning NNP party and Atta Mills of the left wing NDC party the most prominent players in the field of candidates. While the two men represented different parties, their policies and positions were not particularly different, and as the campaign wore on, the two found themselves pushing their personalities and campaign promises to potential voters in the absence of defining issues that set them apart. Documentary filmmakers Jarreth Merz and Kevin Merz followed Akufo-Addo and Mills as they criss-crossed Ghana, making speeches and giving interviews, as they sought to win the hearts and minds of the electorate in the documentary An African Election. The film offers a look into this election and the media coverage of the campaign, as well as the sometimes fragile state of democracy in Africa, where official corruption, difficulties in voting and troubles in vote counting are commonplace. An African Election was an official selection at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.