Key Points
- John Mahama wins Ghana’s presidential election with 56.55% of votes.
- Mahama vows to renegotiate Ghana’s IMF bailout and reset the economy.
- Economic hardships under Akufo-Addo’s government sparked calls for change.
According to preliminary results, former President and opposition leader John Dramani Mahama won Saturday’s presidential election with 56.55% of the vote, according to Ghana’s Electoral Commission on Monday.
John Mahama Wins Ghana Presidential Election With 56.55% Vote
Vice President and ruling-party candidate Mahamudu Bawumia, Mahama’s principal opponent, admitted loss in Sunday’s parliamentary and presidential elections in an effort to defuse tensions following the poll.
The Electoral Commission declared that voter turnout was 60.9% and that votes from 267 of the nation’s 276 constituencies had been tabulated.
Following his tenure as president of Ghana from 2012 to 2016, Mahama, 66, is making a political comeback. As a symbol of policies that led to Ghana’s worst economic crisis in a decade, he attacked Bawumia during the campaign road.
At his campaign headquarters after the announcement, Mahama told hundreds of joyous supporters, “This mandate serves as a constant reminder of what fate awaits us if we fail to reach the aspirations of our people and govern with arrogance.”
Mahama promises reforms, economic reset, and debt renegotiation
In order to “reset our nation,” he pledged to enact “severe measures and governance reforms” after characterizing his election as a rejection of “bad governance.”
Prior to the election, Mahama stated in a Reuters interview that he would try to renegotiate the conditions of a $3 billion bailout obtained last year from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to restructure Ghana’s debt.
Along with introducing a 24-hour triple-shift work schedule and easing business rules, Mahama also promised to enact tax reforms. He committed to spending $10 billion to update Ghana’s infrastructure.
According to Reuters, during President Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration, the economic slump and escalating cost of living crises had weakened public support for the ruling party and stoked calls for a leadership transition. Ghana, a significant producer of gold, oil, and cocoa, has been battling rising inflation and debt-related issues.
It is anticipated that Mahama will give economic reforms, debt restructuring, and measures to restore Ghana’s financial stability top priority whenever he returns to office.
