Ghana’s former president John Dramani Mahama has won a historic comeback election victory after voters appeared to punish the ruling New Patriotic party over its management of an economic crisis.
The NPP’s candidate, the vice-president, Mahamudu Bawumia, on Sunday conceded defeat in the weekend presidential election after failing to shake off widespread frustration over the high cost of living.
Defeat in Saturday’s election ended eight years in power for the NPP under President Nana Akufo-Addo, marked by the west African state’s worst economic turmoil in years, high inflation and a debt default.
For Mahama, the country’s president from 2012 to 2017, it was his third attempt to reclaim the presidency after falling short in 2016 and 2020 elections.
“The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time and we respect it with all humility,” Bawumia said in a press conference flanked by party officials.
In what was a speedy concession with official vote tallies still coming in, Bawumia said he had called Mahama, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), candidate to congratulate him.
Blaring horns, waving flags and cheering, Mahama supporters were already celebrating outside the party campaign headquarters in the capital, Accra.
Mahama has yet to speak publicly since Bawumia’s concession. But on his X account, Mahama confirmed he received Bawumia’s congratulatory call over his “emphatic victory”.
Ghana’s economic woes dominated the election, after the continent’s top gold producer and world’s second-biggest cacao exporter went through a crisis of default and currency devaluation, ending with a $3bn (£2.3bn) IMF bailout.
Earlier, the NDC spokesperson Sammy Gyamfi said the party’s internal review of results showed Mahama had won 56.3% of the vote, against 41.3% for Bawumia.
Political parties had agents at polling stations to observe and tally the initial vote counts before the ballots were sent for official collation by the election commission.
The commission had said official results were expected by Tuesday.
With a history of democratic stability, Ghana’s two main parties, the NPP and NDC, have alternated in power equally since the return to multiparty politics in 1992.
Under the slogan “Break the 8” – a reference to two terms in power – Bawumia had sought to lead the NPP to an unprecedented third term. But he struggled to break away from criticism of Akufo-Addo’s economic record.
Though inflation slowed from more than 50% to about 23%, and other macro-economic indicators are stabilising, economic struggles were still a clear election issue for many.
That frustration opened the way for a comeback challenge from Mahama. But during campaigning, the former president also faced criticism from those who remember his government’s financial problems, especially the massive power cuts that marked his time in office.
