Ghanaians voted in elections on Saturday with frontrunners vice president and former central banker Mahamudu Bawumia and opposition ex-president John Mahama facing off in a closely fought race.
The election was predicted to be one of the tight election in recent years.
Four candidate burying for top job in the West African Nation, with high cost of living leading people’s decision on ballot boxes.
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“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 capital Accra.
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.
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.
The four frontrunners include Mahamudu Bawumia of NPP and former president John Dramani Mahama.
The current Vice President of Ghana, who won the NPP primaries with 61.43% of the vote John Mahama of National Democratic Congress and A former President of Ghana (2012-2017), who secured the NDC nomination with 98.94% of the vote, Alan John Kyerematen of Movement for Change and former Minister for Trade and Industry, who formed the Movement for Change party after resigning from the NPP as well as Nana Kwame Bediako of The New Force who happened to be real estate developer and the candidate for the New Force movement.
The President of Ghana is elected using a two-round system, while members of Parliament are elected in single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting. To win, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the valid votes cast.
If no candidate achieves this, a runoff election will be held between the top two candidates.
The opposition NDC has accused the electoral commission of colluding with the ruling NPP to rig the elections.
Additionally, the Ghana Freedom Party’s candidate, Akua Donkor, passed away on October 28, 2024, leading to the party’s disqualification from the presidential election.