Ghana held presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday, fueled by hopes of economic recovery following the country’s worst financial crisis in decades, which resulted in a major debt default.
President Nana Akufo-Addo is set to step down next month after completing the two-term limit mandated by the constitution. Ghana is the world’s second-largest cocoa producer and a major gold exporter.
Ghana’s struggling economy emerged as the dominant electoral issue after the West Africa gold and cacao producer went through a debt default, high inflation and negotiations for a $3 billion IMF bailout.
Voting will close at 1700 GMT on Saturday, with early results expected on Sunday and full results for the presidential election expected by Tuesday.
“We want to vote for change, the economic situation is very hard,” retired policeman James Nsiah said, waiting to cast his ballot at a booth in the Jamestown area of the capital Accra.
With a history of political stability, Ghana’s two main parties, current ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC), have alternated in power almost equally since 1992.
Touting a slogan “Break the 8” — a reference to the usual two, four-year terms in power — the NPP hopes Bawumia can lead them to an unprecedented third term in office. But he struggled to break from being linked to criticism of Akufo-Addo’s economic record.
Wearing a traditional white smock, Bawumia voted early on Saturday in his hometown of Walewale in the north of Ghana.
“I am very hopeful of winning this election,” he told reporters. “I think we have done a lot of work with our message to the people and the message has been well received.”
A UK-educated economist, he points to an economy turning a corner and the government’s continued plans for digitalisation to ease business as well as free education and health programmes.
Ghana’s government temporarily closed all land borders on Friday night through Sunday to “ensure the integrity” of the vote, an interior ministry statement said.
A ’24-hour economy’
Inflation slowed from more than 50 percent to around 23 percent, and other macro-economic indicators are stabilising. But many Ghanaians still say they struggle with costs of living and scarce jobs and a depreciated cedi currency.
Frustration over the economy has opened the way for a challenge from opposition candidate Mahama, who was president from 2012 to 2017 and who has since failed twice in presidential bids.
The NDC flag-bearer says he will “reset” Ghana and introduce a “24-hour economy”, extending industrial hours to create jobs and more production and also renegotiate parts of the IMF deal.
Some analysts gave him an edge because of voter dismay with NPP economics, but the former president faced criticism from those who remember government financial woes and massive power cuts during his time in office.
First-time voter and visual arts student Abdullah Mohammed, 19, said he may have benefited from Akufo-Addo’s free high school programme, but he saw the need for change with high costs weighing on families.
“I just want a good president who will bring changes. I don’t really care if it is Bawumia or Mahama,” he said in Accra’s Nima district.
Both major candidates are from the north of the country, traditionally a NDC stronghold, but now more fragmented, making the region a key battleground.
The spread of illegal gold mining also became an election issue. Akufo-Addo promised to stop illegal mining, but it has expanded, poisoning riverways and impacting cacao farmlands — a major source of export income.
AFP
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