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Ghanaformer president John Dramani Mahama a stunning political comeback is planned after the vice president conceded defeat in the presidential election oin the shadow of concerns over the growing economic crisis.
Former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, who was running for the leadership position, conceded defeat on Sunday even though no official results were announced.
“The people voted for change,” Bawumia said, adding “Mahama won the presidential election decisively.”
Mr Mahama, 65, who has a political career spanning three decades in the opposition party National Democratic Congress (NDC) he was the country’s president from 2012 to 2017.
His election victory ended the eight-year rule of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), which was marked by the West African nation’s worst economic crisis in years with high living costs and outstanding debt.
Mahama called it an “emphasized victory” in a social media post as he confirmed receiving a call from his NPP rival, Mr Bawumia, who he said called to congratulate him.
“This morning I received a congratulatory message from my brother Dr @MBawumia, following my decisive victory in the elections on Saturday. Thank you, Ghana,” he said.
Mr Mahama’s supporters broke into celebration after the announcement as many took to the streets waving flags, honking horns and cheering outside the party’s campaign headquarters in the capital Accra.
Mr Mahama won 56 per cent of the vote against 41 per cent for Mr Bawumi, according to internal NDC results.
The elections for both the president and members of parliament took place against the backdrop of the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
It was seen as a litmus test for democracy in a region rocked by extremist violence and coups. The West African regional bloc ECOWAS said the election was largely peaceful, a trend in Ghana.
Mr Bawumia, a British-educated economist, struggled to resolve the economic crisis under outgoing President Akufo-Addo.
During the election trial, Mr Mahama promised to turn Ghana into a “24-hour economy” and said the election was a “defining moment” for Ghana.
The former president is “the only person” who can fix the ailing economy in Ghana, one of West Africa’s economic powerhouses, said Jude Agbemava, a political analyst who voted for him.
Additional agency reporting