Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo versus John Dramani Mahama: In the democratically stable Ghana, the president is challenged by his predecessor.
—
Support for the incumbent President of Ghana: Supporters of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the streets of Accra.
Photo: Reuters
The around 17 million eligible voters in Ghana are called on this Monday to elect a president. Opinion polls suggest a neck-and-neck race between candidates from the two main parties: John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) challenges his successor, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The incumbent competes for the New Patriotic Party.
According to the organization Transparency, 47 percent of people consider the police in their country to be corrupt, and only one in three respondents think the government is effective in fighting corruption. Nevertheless, Ghana is considered to be a model democracy in Africa. On Reporters Without Borders’ 2020 media freedom ranking, Ghana ranks 30th – ahead of France, Great Britain and other European countries.
The turnout has also been high recently: in the 2016 parliamentary elections, almost 70 percent of those eligible to vote cast their votes. Ghana, which in 1957 was the first country south of the Sahara to gain independence from its colonial power Great Britain, is considered to be particularly stable and willing to reform. Ghana is involved in the international “Compact with Africa” initiative, which aims to simplify local investments.
Symbolic peace treaty of the candidates
Since the transition from military rule to multi-party democracy in 1992, West Africa’s second-largest economy has seen a gradual peaceful transfer of power to the political parties. Human rights and individual freedoms have since been strengthened. Especially in the 1990s, Ghana halved its poverty rate. However, around one in ten people still lives on less than $ 1.90 a day.
Unlike in some neighboring countries, the elections have been largely peaceful since independence. President Akufo-Addo, who is standing for re-election, and his challenger Mahama even signed a symbolic peace treaty this week, pledging to accept the result of the election. Both compete against each other for the third time.
The 76-year-old attorney Akufo-Addo has been ruling for three years. During this time, economic growth rose to more than 6 percent thanks to income from new oil fields. The cedi currency is considered stable, and inflation has also fallen over the past decade.
But Ghana’s economy is also suffering from the consequences of the pandemic. As far as infections are concerned, the coronavirus has coped well so far: the authorities reported around 50,000 infections and 323 deaths in around 30 million people.
–He wants to return to power: John Dramani Mahama, who was Ghana’s head of state from 2012 to 2017.
Photo: Reuters
Akufo-Addo’s main challenger, 62-year-old former President Mahama, said he would invest $ 10 billion in infrastructure if he wins. He plans the construction of roads, dams and schools as well as the expansion of the airport.
According to the Afrobarometer survey, better infrastructure is particularly important for almost 60 percent of Ghanaians. After the Ivory Coast, Ghana is the second largest cocoa producer in the world. Mahama, who ruled the country until 2017, wants to work to ensure that half of the production is processed in the country.
Several women stand for election, such as the former first lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings. Some of the dozen candidates are trying to score points with the voters with unusual topics: Hassan Ayariga, for example, has promised to promote motorsport and bring Formula 1 to Ghana if he becomes president.
If challenger Mahama wins, the office of Vice President of Ghana could be occupied for the first time by a woman.
But the remaining ten candidates are hardly given any chance. The decision should be between the two old rivals. For both, it would be the second and final term in office at Flagstaff House, the seat of the president in the capital Accra.
However, if Mahama wins the election, the office of vice president could be occupied by a woman for the first time in the country’s history. In a global comparison, a particularly large number of companies in Ghana are owned or managed by women. But women make up only 13 percent of parliamentarians.
Former Education Minister Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang hopes the NDC’s decision to nominate her will inspire other women to pursue careers in politics. The 69-year-old politician said that many of them were “thanks to this momentous decision” more motivated to vote.
–
