Ghana's former president John Dramani Mahama has staged a political comeback by winning the presidential election after his rival, vice president and ruling party candidate Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat on Sunday.
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 addressed a press conference from his residence.
"The people have voted for change at this time, and we respect that decision with all humility.
“I’ve just called His Excellency John Mahama to congratulate him as president-elect of the Republic of Ghana,” he said, adding that Mahama's National Democratic Congress (NDC) party had also won the parliamentary election.
Official results have not yet been announced by the electoral commission, but the NDC said its internal review showed Mahama had won 56.3 percent of the vote against 41.3 percent for Bawumia.
Bawumia said he conceded before the official results to ease tensions after scuffles were reported in several local constituency centres.
"I am making this concession speech before the official announcement by the Electoral Commission to avoid further tension and preserve the peace of our country."
Economic woes
Ghana's struggling economy dominated the election, after the west Africa gold and cacao producer faced a debt default, devaluation and high inflation, a crisis that ended in a $3 billion IMF bailout.
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has struggled to resolve the economic crisis under outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo, who steps down after serving the maximum of two four-year terms.
Ghana voters carry economic pain to the polls
Mahama, 65, was president of Ghana between July 2012 and January 2017. During his campaign, he 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 crisis.
Saturday's voting was largely peaceful, although one person was shot dead in the north and another was shot and killed in the central region, Ghana police said.
(with newswires)
