Ghana’s opposition candidate and former President John Mahama has promised “a new beginning, a new direction” for the country after being officially declared the winner of Saturday’s presidential election.
Mahama won with 56.6% against 41.6% for Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia. It is the biggest margin of victory in the country for 24 years.
Voter turnout was 60.9%, said the head of Ghana’s electoral commission, Jean Mensa.
Mahama said he felt “humbled” that he and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) had “chalked one of the best results in the electoral history of Ghana”.
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He also noted that Ghana had “made history” by choosing its first female Vice-President, Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
And he thanked Bawumia for conceding, which he did long before the official announcement of the results.
The vice-president said he was doing so “to avoid further tension and preserve the peace of our country”.
Nevertheless, there was still some frustration that it took so long to announce the official results.
President Nana Akufo-Addo is stepping down after reaching the official limit of two terms in office.
- The former president set to lead Ghana once more
- Ghana becomes record fifth African nation to see opposition victory this year
This election comes amid the worst economic crisis in a generation.
Unemployment, the cost of living and concerns over the environmental impact of illegal gold mining, known as “galmasey”, were among the key issues.
With many Ghanaians desperate for a change, Mahama won several regions – including Bono, Ahafo, Western, and Central – which the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) had won in 2020.
Since Bawumia’s concession on Sunday, Mahama’s supporters have been celebrating across the country.
People have been cheering, waving flags, blowing horns and spinning motorbikes.
“I’m so excited for this victory,” Salifu Abdul-Fatawu told the BBC in the central city of Kumasi.
He said he hoped it would mean that he and his sibling would get jobs, while the price of food and fuel would come down.
Although the election was generally peaceful, two people were shot dead on Saturday in separate incidents.
The electoral commission office in the northern town of Damongo was also destroyed, allegedly by NDC supporters angry at the delays in announcing the results.
Mahama, 65, previously led Ghana from 2012 until 2017, when he was replaced by Akufo-Addo. Mahama also lost the 2020 election so this victory represents a stunning comeback.
Mahama’s NDC and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) have alternated in power since the return of multi-party politics to Ghana in 1992.
No party has ever won more than two consecutive terms in power – a trend that looks set to continue.
Mahama’s previous time in office was marred by an ailing economy, frequent power-cuts and corruption scandals.
However, Ghanaians hope it will be different this time round.
During the campaign, Mahama promised to transform Ghana into a “24-hour economy”.