By Summary
- Vote is for new president and parliament.
- Country hit by the worst economic crisis in a generation.
- Former President John Dramani Mahama seen as favorite.
- Investors concerned by inflation and debt sustainability.
ACCRA, Ghana, Dec 7 (AfrikTimes) – Ghana voted in a presidential and parliamentary election on Saturday amid hopes for an economic revival after the worst financial crisis in a generation, which led to a major debt default in the West African nation.
President Nana Akufo-Addo is stepping down next month after serving the two terms allowed by the constitution in Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer and a significant gold miner. Twelve candidates are vying to succeed him, but the race is seen as primarily between Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, chosen successor of Akufo-Addo’s New Patriotic Party (NPP), and former President John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Opinion polls tipped Mahama, who served as president from 2012 to 2016, for a potential comeback.
A woman carries a child as she votes at a polling station during the presidential and parliamentary election, near Jamestown, Accra, Ghana, December 7, 2024.
Mahama, 66, has framed Bawumia as representing a continuation of policies that led to Ghana’s economic woes, and has promised to renegotiate terms of a $3 billion IMF bailout secured last year to restructure the country’s debts. The crisis peaked in 2022 when Ghana turned to the IMF.
“This is the only election that we can all see the direction of the outcome before we start voting,” Mahama said after casting his vote in Bole, his hometown in northern Ghana. “We are hopeful and confident that we’ll win,” he added.
Bawumia, a 61-year-old former central banker, also expressed confidence that he would win after he voted in his Walewale constituency in northern Ghana.
“By the grace of God, I’m very hopeful of winning this election. I think that we have done a lot of work. We have put our message to the people, I think the message has been well received,” he said.
Supporters of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate and Ghanaian Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia attend his final election campaign rally, in Accra, Ghana December 5, 2024.
On the campaign trail, Bawumia has highlighted Ghana’s gradual recovery from the crisis, with economic growth surging by 6.9% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024, the fastest rate in five years. He told supporters he will foster policies that will strengthen Ghana’s recovery.
Both candidates said voting was generally calm and peaceful. Jubilant NDC supporters took to the streets of Accra’s historic Jamestown, chanting, banging pans and blaring horns after results from their polling stations showed the party in a comfortable lead.
The electoral commission said over 99% of polling stations opened on time, with voting materials delivered to them. It said later on Saturday evening that turnout was massive, but it was too early to give a specific figure. Benjamin Bano-Bio, Director of Electoral Services, said voting was calm although there were some pockets of violence.
An election worker holds a ballot at a polling station during the presidential and parliamentary election, in Accra, Ghana, December 7, 2024.
“Our verification machines were effective, and the entire process was largely peaceful, except for a few places where violence occurred, leading to the death of one person,” Bano-Bio told a news conference.
Some provisional legislative results are expected on Saturday night and Sunday, while the presidential outcome is expected by Tuesday, although voting trends often allow an early prediction.
Ghana’s voter roll includes approximately 18.7 million registered voters from the country’s 34 million population.
People wait to vote on the day of the presidential and parliamentary election at a polling station in Jamestown, Accra, Ghana, December 7, 2024.
