Ghana’s Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia, has conceded defeat in Saturday’s election and extended his congratulations to opposition candidate and former President John Mahama on his victory.
“The people have voted for change,” Bawumia stated.
The election took place against the backdrop of Ghana’s most severe economic crisis in decades, marked by soaring costs of basic goods, high youth unemployment, and an inability to repay national debts.
Despite Bawumia’s concession, the Electoral Commission (EC) has yet to officially announce the results. The EC cited delays caused by disruptions at collation centers, where supporters of the two main parties were impeding the process. Authorities have called on the police to intervene and restore order.
Meanwhile, Mahama’s supporters have flooded the streets across the country in celebration, waving flags, blowing horns, cheering, and performing stunts with motorbikes.
“I’m so excited for this victory,” Salifu Abdul-Fatawu told the BBC in the central city of Kumasi.
He said he hoped it would mean that he and his sibling would get jobs, while the price of food and fuel would come down.
Even NPP supporter Nana accepted that “my party is NPP, but whatever they did was not good.
“The system was so bad in an election year and so most people were not happy.”
Although the election has generally been peaceful, two people were shot dead on Saturday during an election dispute in the northern area of Nyankpala, while the electoral commission office in another northern town, Damongo, has been destroyed, allegedly by NDC supporters angry at the delays in announcing the results.
Warehouses in both Damongo and Tamale in the northern region have also been looted.
Bawumia explained that his concession was based on internal results from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), which showed Mahama had won “decisively” and that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had also claimed victory in the parliamentary election.
Mahama confirmed that Bawumia had called to congratulate him on his “emphatic victory.”
According to the NDC’s internal figures, Mahama secured 56% of the vote, while Bawumia received 41%.
The vice-president stated he was accepting defeat ahead of the official results to “avoid further tension and preserve the peace of our country.”
The US embassy in Accra congratulated Ghana for holding a “successful election.”
President Nana Akufo-Addo is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms in office.
Mahama, 65, previously served as Ghana’s president from 2012 to 2017, when Akufo-Addo succeeded him. Mahama’s loss in the 2020 election makes his current victory a remarkable comeback.
Since Ghana returned to multi-party politics in 1992, the NDC and NPP have alternated in power, with no party securing more than two consecutive terms—a trend that seems likely to continue.
Mahama’s first presidency was marked by an economic downturn, frequent power outages, and corruption scandals. However, many Ghanaians hope for a different experience this time.
During his campaign, Mahama promised to turn Ghana into a “24-hour economy.”
In Tamale, NDC supporter Gajia One told the BBC: “We handed over to them [NPP] and thought they could manage the country well, but they have failed, and we take over again.”
“John Mahama is the right man to rule this country. We are fed up.”
The new president will be sworn in on 7 January 2025.