Ghana election: Opposition leader Akufo-Addo declared winner
December 10, 2016
Ghana’s opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo has won Wednesday’s tightly contested presidential election.
President John Mahama called Mr Akufo-Addo to admit defeat, a spokesman for his party said, as the Electoral Commission announced the result.
Mr Akufo-Addo has promised free high-school education and more factories but critics have questioned the viability of his ambitions.
Celebrations have broken out in the capital, Accra.
Ghana has been a multi-party democracy since the end of military rule in 1992 and this result is seen as reinforcing its reputation for the peaceful transfer of power between administrations.
Mr Akufo-Addo, from the New Patriotic Party, won the election on his third attempt to reach the presidency, after a campaign dominated by the country’s faltering economy.
“I make this solemn pledge to you tonight: I will not let you down,” he told a jubilant crowd in front of his residence.
“I will do all in my power to live up to your hopes and expectations.”
Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) declared Mr Akufo-Addo the winner, with 53.85% of the votes, while Mr Mahama took 44.40%. Turnout was at 68.62%.
Nana Akufo-Addo
- 72 years-old
- Human rights lawyer
- Campaigned for a return to multi-party democracy under military rule
- A former justice and foreign minister in the NPP government from 2001 to 2007, he is running for president for a third time
- Main promise: Build a factory in each of Ghana’s more than 200 districts
In the previous election in 2012, Mr Mahama, from the National Democratic Congress, defeated Mr Akufo-Addo by less than 300,000 votes.
It is the second time in the space of a week that a West African president has conceded to an opposition candidate, following the shock defeat of President Yahya Jammeh in Gambia’s elections.
*BBC
Nkemnji Global Tech
Featured
Mozambique: Two killed in collapse of illegal mine in Cabo Delgado.
Pan African Visions | January 26, 2021 8:38 am
Being and Becoming African as a Permanent Work in Progress:Inspiration from Chinua Achebe’s Proverbs
Pan African Visions | January 26, 2021 8:27 am
PROPHET LOVY ANNOUNCES OPENING OF NEW WORSHIP CENTRE.
Pan African Visions | January 24, 2021 10:51 am
Cameroon: Achiri Victor, DavLinks Launches Online Platforms to Market Cameroonian Movies
Pan African Visions | January 23, 2021 10:07 pm
Recent News
-
The National Question and the Quest for Restructuring in Nigeria
January 26, 2021 9:26 am
-
Cuban health workers arrive in Mozambique to fight covid-19
January 26, 2021 8:43 am
-
Mozambique: Two killed in collapse of illegal mine in Cabo Delgado.
January 26, 2021 8:38 am
-
Being and Becoming African as a Permanent Work in Progress:Inspiration from Chinua Achebe’s Proverbs
January 26, 2021 8:27 am
-
Beyond COVID: Prioritizing NTD agenda and sustainable local financing
January 25, 2021 5:04 pm
Leave a Reply