Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia concedes defeat, congratulates former President John Mahama.
Ghana’s former President John Dramani Mahama has won the country’s presidential election after his main opponent, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat.
“The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time and we respect it with all humility,” Bawumia said in a news conference on Sunday.
The defeat in Saturday’s election ends two terms in power for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President Nana Akufo-Addo, marked by Ghana’s worst economic crisis in years, involving high inflation and a debt default.
Bawumia said he called Mahama, of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to congratulate him.
The vice president said Mahama won the presidency “decisively”. The NDC won the parliamentary election, according to the NPP’s internal tally of votes.
Mahama, who was president of Ghana between July 2012 and January 2017, confirmed on X he had received Bawumia’s congratulatory call over his “emphatic victory”.
Blaring horns and cheering, the 65-year-old’s supporters were already gathering and celebrating outside the party campaign headquarters in the capital, Accra.
During his campaign, he promised to “reset” the country on various fronts and tried to appeal to young Ghanaians.
Ghana’s economic woes dominated the election after the gold and cacao producer went through a crisis of default and currency devaluation, ending with a $3bn International Monetary Fund bailout.
