Ghana’s Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has accepted defeat in Saturday’s election and congratulated the candidate., former President John Mahama, in his victory.
“People voted for change,” said Bawumia.
This election happened at a time when the country’s economic situation is facing the worst situation in a generation, which has caused the price of important things to fall, while the young people are struggling to find jobs and the country is unable to pay its debts.
Without Bawumia’s approval, no official results have been announced.
The Electoral Commission said the results were delayed because the supporters of the two major parties were disrupting the process and asked the police to remove the collaboration centers.
Mahama’s supporters took to the streets across the country cheering, cheering, waving flags, blowing vuvuzelas and spinning motorbikes.
“I am very happy with this victory,” Salifu Abdul-Fatawu told the BBC in downtown Kumasi.
He said he hopes that it will mean that he and his siblings will find jobs, food and fuel will be cheaper.
Even NPP supporter Nana accepted that “my party is NPP, but whatever they are doing is wrong.
“The program was very bad in an election year so most people were unhappy.”
Bawumia said he based his statement on the internal statistics of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He said this shows that Mahama won “definitely” and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) also won the parliamentary elections.
Mahama confirmed that Bawumia called him to congratulate him on his “resounding victory”.
Earlier the NDC said internal results showed that Mahama won 56% of the votes compared to Bawumia’s 41%.
The vice president said he accepted the defeat before the official announcement of the results “to avoid tension and maintain the peace of our country”.
President Nana Akufo-Addo is stepping down after reaching the legal limit of serving two terms.
Mahama, 65, led Ghana from 2012 until 2017, when he was ousted by Akufo-Addo. Mahama lost again in the 2020 election so this victory represents a remarkable comeback.
Since the return of multi-party politics in Ghana in 1992, only those from the NDC or NPP have won the presidency.
No team has ever won more than two in a row – a trend that looks set to continue.
Before Mahama was in power, the economy was damaged, there were power cuts and corruption scandals.
However, Ghanaians are hoping it will be different this time.
In Tamale, NDC supporter Gajia One told the BBC: “We have given them [NPP] and I thought they could manage the country well, but they failed, and we take over again.”
“John Mahama is the right man to rule this country. We are fed up.”
Additional reporting by Natasha Booty
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