Ghana’s vice president and ruling party candidate, Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat Sunday to opposition candidate and former President John Dramani Mahama in the West African nation’s tightly contested presidential election.
Ahead of the official announcement, Bawumia told reporters that he respects the decision of Ghanaians to vote for change. “I’ve just called His Excellency John Mahama to congratulate him as president-elect of the Republic of Ghana,” he said.
Celebrations broke out in parts of the country including the capital, Accra.
The election was held against the backdrop of the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation and seen as a litmus test for democracy in a region shaken by extremist violence and coups.
Bawumia was running as the flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party, or NPP, which has struggled to resolve the economic crisis under outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Mahama’s win is viewed following the latest trend of elections around the world, favoring opposition parties against incumbents, from the United States to European countries — such as Britain and France — as well as South Africa.
Mahama, 65, was president of Ghana between July 2012 and January 2017.
During his campaign, Mahama promised to “reset” the country on various fronts and tried to appeal to young Ghanaians who saw the vote as a way out of the country’s economic