Ghanaians are going to the polls because of the worst economic situation in a generation

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) – Voters in the west African nation of Ghana will go to the polls Saturday in a national election poised to test democracy in a region rocked by dangerous violence and coups.

An estimated 18.7 million people are registered to vote in the presidential and legislative elections but these two big ones offer little hope of change in the nation. Ghana used to be the region’s child democracy, but in recent years it has faced serious economic problems, including high inflation and unemployment.

At a time when democracies in West Africa are threatened by coups, Ghana has been seen as a beacon of democratic stability and a history of peaceful elections. It is also an economic powerhouse, boasting of its economic development.

But recently that is changing: 82 percent of Ghanaians feel that their country is headed in the wrong direction, according to an opinion poll released by Afrobarometer, a research group, earlier this year.

Despite 12 candidates running for Ghana’s next president, Saturday’s election – as before since the return of multi-party politics in 1992 – has emerged as a two-horse race.

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia is a candidate for the New Patriotic Party, or NPP, a government that has struggled to solve the economic crisis. He will face former President John Dramani Mahama, the leader of the main opposition National Democratic Congress, or NDC. He was voted out in 2016 after failing to deliver on economic promises.

The NDC prides itself as a people’s democratic party, while the ruling NPP portrays itself as right-leaning. But in reality, analysts and pollsters said, the plans of the presidential candidates do not differ significantly.

Two hundred and seventy-six members of parliament will also be elected on Saturday. The ruling NPP and the opposition NDC have 137 members each in the 275-member legislature, with one independent member voting the most with the ruling party. Another district will be allowed to vote in this election, bringing the number of deputies to 276.

In their final campaign meetings on Thursday, both candidates made a final push to unite their political parties as a response to Ghana’s economic woes.

Bawumia, 61, an Oxford-educated economist and former deputy governor of the country’s central bank, promised to build on the efforts of the outgoing administration and stabilize the economy.

Mahama, 65, on the other hand, repeated his promise to “rehabilitate” the country in various sectors. “We need to reform our democracy, governance, economy, finance, agriculture, infrastructure, environment, health sector, and everything that we consider important as human beings,” said the former president.

Across the capital Accra, the election spirit has been high with posters and billboards featuring stunt bikers, political rallies on the streets, election noise and songs blasted by public speakers.

But the concern of many is also reflected in the important thing at stake: The country’s faltering economy, which has been challenged in various sectors in recent years.

The country failed to pay its foreign debts last year as it faced an economic crisis that increased the price of fuel, food and other essentials. The inflation rate reached 54% at the end of last year and although it has decreased since then, not many Ghanaians can tell the difference when they go to the market.

The persistent challenge of illegal gold mining – known locally as galamsey – has also been a major issue in the campaign and a source of concern for voters, prompting protests and criticism of the outgoing government.

Ghana is Africa’s leading gold producer and the world’s sixth largest producer of gold, but the resource is increasingly being mined illegally as people look for jobs in a collapsing economy. This mine has polluted rivers and other natural areas even though the government has taken steps to stop this practice.