Ghana elections: Who is running and what’s at stake?

In tense, tense elections that come amid waning economic hardship and general dissatisfaction with Ghana’s government, voters will go to the polls on Saturday.

Former National Democratic Congress (NDC) leader John Dramani Mahama and current Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) square off in the presidential election.

Both Bawumia and Mahama have made a strong appeal to their supporters in the historically underdeveloped northern region of the nation. Their approaches to the economy – Ghana’s main issue at present – differ. While the NPP favours a private sector growth approach, the NDC wants to implement more government intervention.

According to analyst Emmanuel Yeboah of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD), “these elections are unique because the north will likely likely determine the winner for the first time.”

In a region where armed groups are dominant, Ghana is known for its largely peaceful transfer of power and overall security. It is one of West Africa’s most prosperous and stable economies.

With 34 million people, it is the second-most populous country in the region. The southern Akan group (46 percent) is the largest ethnic group and most Ghanaians (71 percent) are Christians. The currency is the cedi, and the capital city is Accra.

What information about the vote is important to you:

John Mahama, a former president of Ghana and the NDC’s nominee for president, waving party flags from a car in Accra’s electoral caravan on December 3, 2024 [Olympia de Maismont/AFP]

How does voting work in Ghana?

Ghanaians 18 and above are eligible. Since 1992’s reintroduction of multiparty voting after years of military rule, 18.8 million people have registered to cast ballots in the ninth general election. Turnout, on average, has been about 70 percent in previous elections.
Voters will select representatives for 276 parliamentary seats representing all constituencies.
Voters will gather at voting locations all over the country to pick up their ballots at 7am (WEST Africa Time) at 6:00 PM.
Of the 12 candidates vying for the top job of president, there are two favourites: the candidates for the ruling NPP and opposition NDC parties.
The election is won by the candidate who receives more than 50% of the votes cast. In the event of no overall majority, a run-off vote between the two with the most votes will take place, likely a week later.
By Monday, December 10, the election results should be available.

Who are the main candidates for president?

Although the Electoral Commission of Ghana approved 12 presidential candidates, it is widely accepted that the election will pit the established NPP against the opposition NDC.

Since 1992, the two main parties have split in power in close elections. Neither party, however, has managed to “break the eight” or win three consecutive presidential terms. No one may serve more than two terms on the president’s four-year terms.

Mahamudu Bawumia

The 61-year-old Oxford graduate and former central bank deputy, who is a Muslim from the historically underprivileged north of the country, represents the ruling NPP. He is currently Ghana’s vice president.

Because he had not previously held a political position, he was not a popular choice when he ran for office as President Akufo-Addo’s deputy in 2016.

Bawumia, a key member of the presidential economic management team, has been held responsible by the opposition for the nation’s financial problems. Ghana made its first sovereign debt default in 2022, causing inflation to reach unheard levels.

In response, the NPP’s general support has increased due to rising food prices, a lack of jobs for young Ghanaians, and other factors.

Throughout his campaign for the presidential election, which ended on Thursday, Bawumia has blamed external factors like COVID-19 for these economic problems. His team also emphasized two of the government’s biggest achievements, including the government’s “one-district, one factory” initiative, which has supported the construction of factories in many of the 261 administrative districts, including the Twyford Ceramics factory, which opened in the Shama District of the Western Region in 2021.

That strategy seems to be working, analysts say. Many people actually believed that it was a clear win for Mahama three months ago, according to Yeboah of the CDD. “Right now, it’s just too close to call”.

Still, Bawumia faces challenges, as many remain doubtful about the NPP government in general. The fact that Bawumia is a Muslim, non-Akan, and a member of a tribe and religion have an impact on how people vote can affect him.

He was forced to run alongside Christian Akan Matthew Opoku Prempeh as his deputy to appease the ruling party’s traditional home base because he was the first NPP candidate to not speak Twi.

If he wins, Bawumia will become Ghana’s first Muslim president. The NPP would also, for the first time, have won three consecutive terms in office.

John Dramani Mahama

Mahama, 66, of the opposition NDC party, ascended to the presidency in 2012, after President John Atta Mills died. His tenure until 2016 was marked by turbulence: drastic power cuts, locally called “dumsor”, earned him the nickname “Mr Dumsor”.

Mahama was also accused of receiving bribes from a businessman in the form of a Ford four-wheel drive in 2012. Government agencies battled allegations of corruption.

Mahama became the first incumbent to miss out on a second term when Akufo-Addo defeated him in his second presidential bid in 2016. He ran for president once more in 2020, losing to his rival.

However, the politician, who is also from the north and is Christian, has campaigned on promises of a swift economic recovery from NPP rule.

He makes his appeal to both the north and central regions’ bases in the NDC and the 18 to 35-year-olds who make up 62 percent of the voting population.

Alan Kyerematen

A former minister and ex-member of the NPP, Kyerematen, 69, exited the party ahead of chaotic and disputed primaries late in 2023.

Kyeremetan is unlikely to face much of a challenge from the NPP or NDC parties because he is an independent candidate supported by his Movement for Change, which he founded in September 2023. However, analysts warn that he could steal NPP votes in its Akan strongholds, particularly in central Kumasi city, where the politician is from.

Nana Kwame Bediako

The real estate business mogul, 44, is running as an independent candidate, backed by the New Force movement, which targets young people.

Before he entered politics, Bediako was well-known as a wealthy man with a penchant for flair, even once residing with his own tigers.

The announcement of his decision to stand as a presidential candidate came weeks after billboards in Accra showed a mystery, masked candidate, and piqued young people’s interest. Bediako has promised to end the country’s “brain drain” by creating more jobs.

What are the key issues?

Economy

Despite being a major producer of cocoa, gold, and oil, Ghana is experiencing its worst economic crisis in a generation. The cost of food is rising, and the value of the currency has fallen.

Ghana’s economic crisis reached its height in 2022 when it for the first time failed to pay its $30 billion external debts. By the end of that year, the nation was unable to provide funding for the budget for the following year because inflation had reached a new high of more than 50%.

Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) owes private power suppliers $1.6 billion, which is a common cause of power blackouts. In October 2024, one supplier, Sunon Asogli, suspended operations because of the debts.

Even though President Akufo-Addo had previously promised never to do this, his government was forced to apply for a $3 billion IMF loan package to support the economy. This week, the IMF released the third tranche of the loan, worth $360m. The bank released $600m in July 2023 and January 2024. Since 2020, inflation has decreased by 20%, but many people still struggle with the cost of living.

The two main parties’ strategies for fixing the economy are different. While the ruling NPP favours private sector-led growth to boost the economy, the NDC wants to implement government-led interventionist policies such as large, public infrastructure projects in agriculture and manufacturing.

Unemployment

Unemployment has hit 14.7 percent in Ghana, according to government data from 2023. In what has been referred to as a “brain drain,” young Ghanaians, especially healthcare workers, are being compelled to leave the country.

Bawumia’s campaign blames other factors for this: COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war and even problems created during Mahama’s last presidency. The vice president has promised new economic strategies: cancelling some taxes, such as import duties on mobile phones, for example.

NDC’s Mahama, for his part, has made the economy a cornerstone of his campaign, promising to cut the number of ministers to reduce government spending. &nbsp, He has called Akufo-Addo and Bawumia’s IMF deal “reckless”.

Corruption

This week, a Ghanaian news site, The Fourth Estate, revealed that the country’s National Service Authority, which recruits graduates to public offices, was paying salaries to thousands of “ghost workers”, although this claim has not been officially investigated.

In 2023, Ghana placed 70th out of 180 nations on the Corruption Perceptions Index, indicating high levels of political corruption. The NDC’s Mahamasa promised an “Operation Return All Loot” and targeted corrupt officials.

A drone view shows cocoa plantations and farms destroyed by illegal gold mining in Kwabeng, in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 28 — A drone view shows cocoa plantations and farms destroyed by illegal gold mining in Kwabeng, in the Eastern Region, Ghana, on February 28, 2024]Francis Korokoro/Reuters]

Illegal mining and pollution

Millions of people in Ghana depend on these water bodies for both agriculture and consumption, and illegal gold mining, or “galamsey,” is causing widespread destruction.

This year’s higher gold prices and higher unemployment have increased the scope of galamsey, which involves removing pieces of gold from the topsoil and utilizing water and chemicals like mercury and cyanide to clean it up. The River Pra, which is now polluted murky brown, is where the soil is deposited, where it is reclaimed. Farmers claim that cocoa harvests have been hampered by pollution.

Ghana’s water authority announced in August that it had to stop providing clean water to communities because it couldn’t remove the harmful chemicals and it was unsafe to drink. The government has been accused of being ineffective in stopping it and have launched protests in response. Some have called it an “ecocide”.

According to Ewurabena Yanyi-Akofur, country head of the non-governmental organization WaterAid Ghana, illegal mining was primarily confined to the south of the nation but has since spread to the north.

According to research from WaterAid, the communities where illegal mining is most prevalent also experience health issues like chest pain brought on by their daily activities and the polluted water. However, when asked, illegal miners say they have no choice because of the lack of jobs.

“You have to feel sympathy for their situation. Unemployment rates are high, and climate change has resulted in less reliable rainfall that’s affecting farming”, Yanyi-Akofur added.

By 2030, if things don’t change, WaterAid predicts Ghana might run out of potable water altogether, and would be forced to import water from its neighbours.