Ghana’s opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo has won Wednesday’s tightly contested presidential election.
President John Mahama called Akufo-Addo to admit defeat, a spokesman for his party said, as the Electoral Commission announced the result.
The opposition leader has promised free high-school education and more factories but critics have questioned the viability of his ambitions.
Celebrations have broken out in the capital, Accra.
Ghana has been a multi-party democracy since the end of military rule in 1992 and this result is seen as reinforcing its reputation for the peaceful transfer of power between administrations.
Akufo-Addo, from the New Patriotic Party, won the election on his third attempt to reach the presidency, after a campaign dominated by the country’s faltering economy.
“I make this solemn pledge to you tonight: I will not let you down,” he told a jubilant crowd in front of his residence.
“I will do all in my power to live up to your hopes and expectations.”
Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) declared Mr Akufo-Addo the winner, with 53.85% of the votes, while Mr Mahama took 44.40%.
Turnout was at 68.62%.
Nana Akufo-Addo In Brief
- 72 years-old
- Human rights lawyer
- Campaigned for a return to multi-party democracy under military rule
- A former justice and foreign minister in the NPP government from 2001 to 2007, he is running for president for a third time
- Main promise: Build a factory in each of Ghana’s more than 200 districts
In the previous election in 2012, Mahama, from the National Democratic Congress, defeated Akufo-Addo by less than 300,000 votes.
It is the second time in the space of a week that a West African president has conceded to an opposition candidate, following the shock defeat of President Yahya Jammeh in Gambia’s elections.
