AFRICA/GHANA - Former President Mahama wins presidential election of December 7

Accra (Agenzia Fides) - Former President John Dramani Mahama won the presidential election in Ghana on December 7. While the final result of the election is not yet available, outgoing Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), confirmed Mahama's victory yesterday, Sunday, December 8.
The candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) thus returns to the highest office in the country after eight years. Mahama was already President of Ghana from July 2012 to January 2017. At that time he was defeated twice (in the 2016 and 2020 elections) by outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo (who was not allowed to run again after two terms).
The NDC is also in the lead in the parliamentary elections, which were held together with the elections of the Head of State. The Independent Electoral Commission, meanwhile, asked voters to be patient until the final results of the elections are published, which, as the bishops had hoped, took place in a largely calm and peaceful atmosphere (see Fides, 4/12/2024).
The defeat of the candidate of the outgoing president's party is a consequence of the severe economic crisis that has gripped the country in recent years. The high rate of inflation and youth unemployment have led the majority of voters to turn away from those who have governed Ghana for the past eight years. Mahama had promised to improve the country's economic situation, but will have to deal with the issue of the $3 billion loan that the current government has requested from the International Monetary Fund to meet the most urgent needs. Ghanaian voters also expressed their disappointment at scandals involving members of the government. Ghana is considered one of the most stable countries in Africa, where the democratic process is widely respected, even if the 2016 and 2020 elections were marred by post-election violence that left people dead and injured. This year, meanwhile, no major incidents have been recorded, although at least two people have been killed by gunfire, one in the north of the country and another in the central region. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 9/12/2024)

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