Ghana’s ruling New Patriotic Party candidate, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded loss to former President John Mahama in the country’s presidential election on Sunday, after failing to overcome widespread discontent over the suffering economy.
The setback in Saturday’s election signalled the end of two terms in office for the NPP under President Nana Akufo-Addo, typified by Ghana’s worst economic crisis in years, soaring inflation, and debt default.
“The people of Ghana have spoken and voted for change at this time. We respect this with utmost humility,” Bawumia said at a press conference.
Bawumia said that he contacted his opponent, Mahama, the National Democratic Congress candidate and former president, to congratulate him.
With blasting horns and cheering, Mahama supporters had already begun to congregate outside the party’s campaign headquarters in Accra.
On his X account, Mahama confirmed receiving Bawumia’s congratulatory call for his “emphatic victory.”
The Vice President admitted that Mahama had won the presidency “decisively” and that his NDC party had also won the country’s parliamentary election, according to the NPP’s internal vote count.
Ghana’s economic woes were the key topic in the election, following a crisis of default and currency devaluation that led to a $3 billion International Monetary Fund bailout.
Earlier, NDC spokesman Sammy Gyamfi told reporters that the party’s internal evaluation of results revealed Mahama won 56.3 percent of the vote, compared to Bawumia’s 41.3 percent.
“It is very clear that the people of this country have voted for change,” Gyamfi said.
Ghana’s two main parties, the NPP and ND, have a history of democratic stability. Political parties had agents at polling stations to observe and tally initial vote counts before sending them to the election commission for official collation.
Commission Deputy Commissioner Bossman Asare previously stated that regional results had yet to arrive at the national centre, but the commission expected the official results to be announced by Tuesday.
With a history of democratic stability, Ghana’s two main parties, the NPP and NDC, have alternated in power since the restoration of multi-party politics in 1992.
Under the slogan “Break the 8” (referring to two terms in power), Bawumia hoped to lead the NPP to an unprecedented third term.
However, he struggled to overcome criticism of Akufo-Addo’s economic performance.
Although inflation fell from more than 50% to roughly 23%, and other macroeconomic indicators steadied, economic problems remained a major concern for many people.
This frustration set the stage for Mahama’s comeback challenge. Mahama, who served as president from 2012 to 2017, had previously lost two presidential elections.
