Ghana’s Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia acknowledged defeat in Saturday’s election and congratulated opposition candidate former President John Mahama on his victory.
“The people voted for change,” Bawumia said.
The election comes amid the country’s worst economic crisis in a generation, with young people struggling to get jobs and the price of basic goods soaring as the country struggles to repay its debt.
Despite Bawumia’s concession, no official results have been announced.
The Electoral Commission (EC) announced that the results were delayed because supporters of the two main political parties disrupted the process, and asked the police to remove the collation center.
Mr Mahama’s supporters have taken to the streets across the country to celebrate, cheer, wave flags, honk their horns and cycle their bikes.
“I’m very excited about this victory,” Salihu Abdul Fatau told the BBC from central Kumasi.
He said he hopes this will help him and his siblings get jobs and lower food and fuel prices.
Even Nana, an NPP supporter, admitted, “My party is NPP, but whatever they did was not good.”
“The system was so bad in an election year that most people weren’t happy.”
The election has been largely peaceful, but on Saturday two people were shot dead in separate incidents and the Electoral Commission office in the northern town of Damongo was stormed by NDC supporters angry over delays in announcing the results. It was reportedly destroyed.
Ghanaians had expected the first results to be announced within hours of the close of voting, but the head of the Electoral Commission urged patience, noting there were 72 days left to announce the results.
Warehouses were also looted in Tamale, in the north, as well as in Damongo.
Bawumia said he was making the concessions based on the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s internal tally.
He said these showed that Mr Mahama had won “decisively” and that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had also won the parliamentary elections.
Mr Mahama acknowledged that Mr Bawumia called him to congratulate him on his “strong victory”.
The NDC earlier announced that an internal survey showed that Mr Mahama won 56% of the votes to 41% for Mr Bawumia.
The vice president said he conceded defeat before the official announcement of the results “to avoid further tensions and protect peace in our country.”
The US Embassy in the capital, Accra, congratulated Ghana on its “successful election.”
President Nana Akufo-Addo will step down after reaching the official term limit of two terms.
Mahama, 65, led the Ghana national team from 2012 until 2017, replacing Akufo-Addo. Mr. Mahama also lost the 2020 election, so this victory marks a stunning comeback.
Since multipartyism was reinstated in Ghana in 1992, the NDC and NPP have alternately held power.
No party has ever won more than two consecutive terms in power, and this trend is likely to continue.
Mr Mahama’s previous tenure was marred by a weak economy, frequent power outages and corruption scandals.
But Ghanaians are hoping for something different this time.
During his campaign, Mr Mahama promised to transform Ghana into a “24-hour economy”.
In Tamale, NDC supporter Gazia Wang told the BBC: “We handed it over to them (NPP) and thought they would be able to manage the country well, but they failed. We will take over again.” spoke.
“John Mahama is the right person to rule this country. We are fed up.”
The new president will take office on January 7, 2025.
Additional reporting by Natasha Booty
