Ghana election results: Counting of votes begins as new president awaits

Votes are being counted in Ghana after Saturday’s general election, after a voting process that was largely peaceful except for a deadly shooting in the north of the country.

Police said four people were arrested at a polling station in Nanakpala town, where an opposition parliamentary candidate tried to file a complaint but was stopped by ruling party supporters.

Since then, troops have been sent to Nanikpala in armored vehicles to restore order.

Elsewhere, election day was held peacefully, with some Ghanaians lining up before dawn to ensure they could cast their ballots.

Polling stations officially closed at 17:00 GMT, and election results are expected to be announced on Tuesday.

Ghana’s land borders were closed until Sunday evening, in a move reporters described as unusual.

The West African country is guaranteed a new president as Nana Akufo-Addo steps down after reaching the official limit of two terms in office.

But if former president John Mahama succeeds in his comeback bid for the NDC party, he could be replaced by a familiar face.

His main challenger is expected to be Vice President Mahmudhu Bawumia, who would become the country’s first Muslim leader if he wins for the ruling NPP party.

Other candidates include Nana Kwame Bediako, a businessman popular with young voters, and Alan Kerimatan, who defected from the ruling NPP last year.

About 19 million Ghanaians are registered to vote.

Despite Ghana recently passing tough legislation to increase the number of women in top politicsOnly one woman is in the running for president – Nana Akoswa Sarpong Frampuma of the Convention People’s Party (CPP).

The only other female presidential candidate in the election – Akwa Donkor of the Ghana Freedom Party – died in October. Nevertheless, his name will remain on the ballot papers because the candidate elected to succeed him was disqualified.

Voters in 275 constituencies across the country are also electing their MPs in Saturday’s general elections.

Since the return of multiparty politics to Ghana in 1992, only candidates from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) or the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) have won the presidency.

No party has been in power for more than two consecutive terms.

To win in the first round, a presidential candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote. Failing that, the top two contenders will enter a run-off vote by the end of December.

“Voting is important for you to make the best choice for your country,” 18-year-old Serwa Yeboah Joshibeth, who was voting for the first time, told the BBC.

The recent graduate wants to see more job opportunities, “not for me alone but for others who need them. [too]”

95-year-old Kojo Yeboh agrees.

“The next leader should focus on education and jobs for the youth,” a retired university worker told the BBC outside a polling booth in the city of Kumasi.

“I am already benefiting from the state stipend at my age,” he adds.

As campaigns drew to a close on Friday, Bawumia said of his main rival: “What is clear is that despite the challenges we face, we have outperformed John Dramani Mahama’s government.”

While Mahama told supporters “it is a choice between the Ghana we have today and the Ghana we want together. A Ghana of opportunity, prosperity and justice for all.”

Ghanaians have been hit particularly hard by inflation in recent years, which peaked at 54.1 percent in 2022. Although it has since declined, many thousands of people have been pushed into poverty and the quality of life has suffered. The World Bank says that.

That same year, Ghana defaulted on its debt payments and The government is still in protracted negotiations with international creditors to try to restructure the debt..

Unemployment is also high – especially among young people, whose views can have a big impact on the outcome of elections.

Additional reporting by Fior Nuno in Accra and Damian Zane in London