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John Mahama, Ghana’s opposition leader, swept to power on Monday, officially winning the presidential election in a landslide. The electorate’s rejection of the ruling party reflected deep dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the economy and the escalating cost of living.
The electoral commission announced on Monday that John Mahama clinched victory in Ghana’s presidential election, securing 56 percent of the vote in Saturday’s polls. His closest rival, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, representing the ruling party, trailed significantly with 41 percent. The outcome marks a decisive shift in voter sentiment, as Mahama’s campaign focused on economic recovery and social reforms resonated with the majority, setting the stage for a new political chapter.
John Mahama’s return to the presidency signals the end of an eight-year tenure for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) under Nana Akufo-Addo. The outgoing administration faced mounting criticism during its final term, marked by Ghana’s worst economic crisis in decades, an IMF intervention, and a historic debt default that left many questioning the country’s fiscal stability.
“I have the singular honour… to declare his excellency John Dramani Mahama as the winner,” Electoral Commission Chairperson Jean Mensa said, announcing the results.
Acknowledging the public’s clamor for change, Vice President Bawumia, an ex-central banker, conceded defeat early on Sunday. His swift acceptance of the results underscored the mounting frustration with a government that failed to revive a faltering economy and meet the people’s expectations.
In addition to conceding the presidential race, Bawumia noted that the National Democratic Congress (NDC), led by Mahama, had likely secured control of parliament. The official count remained incomplete, but early indications pointed to a resounding victory for the opposition across the board.
Twice denied the presidency, 66-year-old Mahama finally broke through on Saturday, buoyed by a populace eager for a fresh direction. His blueprint for Ghana includes an economic overhaul and a renegotiation of the $3 billion IMF agreement, a bold strategy aimed at pulling the country back from the brink of financial despair.
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With a history of democratic stability, Ghana’s two major parties, the NPP and NDC, have alternated in power equally since the return to multi-party politics in 1992.
But Ghana’s economic woes dominated the 2024 election, after the continent’s top gold producer and world’s second cacao exporter went through a debt crisis, the default and currency devaluation.
Turnout on Saturday was 60.9 percent, a slide in participation compared with 79 percent in the 2020 election, results showed.
With a slogan “Break the 8” — a reference to two, four-year terms in power — Bawumia had sought to take the NPP to an unprecedented third mandate. But he struggled to break from criticism of Akufo-Addo’s economic record.
While inflation slowed from more than 50 percent to around 23 percent, and other indicators stabilised, economic concerns were still a clear election issue for most Ghanaians.
That frustration opened the way for a comeback from Mahama, who first came to the presidency in 2012 when he was serving as vice president and then President John Atta Mills died in office.
During campaigning, the former president also faced criticism from those who remember his government’s own financial tribulations and especially the massive power blackouts that marred his time in office.
