Polls open in Ghana in litmus test for democracy

A general election is scheduled to take place in Ghana in an area rife with political unrest and coups.

Voting opened at 7am]07: 00 GMT] and will close at 5pm]17: 00 GMT] on Saturday, with early results expected on Sunday and full results for the presidential election likely by Tuesday.

A fiercely contested election is being led by opposition leader John Mahama and vice president Mahamudu Bawumia, who was previously the country’s central banker. The outcome of the election is now likely to depend on whether Bawumia and Mahama are from the historically underdeveloped northern region. This is a departure from previous elections, in which southern province voters had a greater influence.

After serving two terms that are permitted by law, President Nana Akufo-Addo will step down. Voters will also elect the country’s new parliament in these elections, with some 18.8 million people registered to vote in a nation of 34 million. Election turnout was roughly 70% in the past.

According to a statement from the interior ministry, Ghana’s government temporarily closed all land borders from Friday through Sunday to “ensure the integrity” of the vote.

With a history of political stability, Ghana’s two main parties, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), have alternated in power almost equally since 1992. Neither party, however, has ever managed to “break the eight” or win three consecutive presidential terms.

NPP hopes their candidate, Bawumia, can lead them to an unprecedented third term in office. But the party has struggled to shake off criticism of Akufo-Addo’s economic record.

After the West African producer of gold and cacao went through a debt default, high inflation, and negotiations for a $3 billion IMF bailout, Ghana’s struggling economy came out as the main electoral issue.

Bawumia, a United Kingdom-educated economist, has pledged to continue the government’s plans for digitalisation to ease business as well as free education and health programmes.

“I know what I want to do from day one in the presidency. At a final rally in Accra, he yelled, “Give me the chance to transform this country.”

Mahama, the opposition candidate, served as president from 2012 to 2017 and has since lost twice in presidential campaigns.

He said he will “reset” Ghana and introduce a “24-hour economy”, extending industrial hours to create jobs and increase production, and renegotiate parts of the country’s lending programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The illegal gold mining industry has also become a political hot button. Akufo-Addo promised to stop illegal mining, but it has expanded, poisoning rivers and impacting cacao farmlands, a major source of export income.

In addition, conflicts in Niger and Burkinabe, where military rulers have been in power since the coup, are increasing in Ghana’s northern regions.

In a region rife with coups and insecurity, Ghana is frequently regarded as a model for political stability, but its parliament has recently displayed signs of unrest.