John Mahama, the opposition candidate for Ghana, announced Thursday, December 10 that he was contesting his presidential defeat against Nana Akufo-Addo, reelected for a second term according to official data, and that he also rejected the provisional results of the legislative elections. According to the electoral commission, the outgoing head of state, leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), won 51.59% of the vote, against 47.36% for John Mahama, candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“It is clear from the legally expressed results that the NDC won the presidential and legislative elections, said Mahama. We will not accept the fraudulent results of these elections and we will take all legitimate steps to reverse this injustice. “ Only 515,524 votes separate President Akufo-Addo (76) from his predecessor, Mr. Mahama (62), who became leader of the opposition in 2016.
“Many measures have been taken to manipulate the election results in favor of the outgoing president”, said Mr. Mahama, denouncing in particular a strong military presence deployed during the count for “Intimidate” and “Reverse the results”. Earlier today, Akufo-Addo’s victory was deemed fair by the Coalition of Ghanaian Election Observers (Codeo), which monitored 4,000 of 38,000 polling stations across the country.
The final results of the legislative elections have not yet been announced by the electoral commission. But according to the provisional results, very tight, of the 275 deputies, 137 belong to the presidential majority, 136 to the party of Mr. Mahama and one is independent. A deputy position in the Bono Est region has not yet been formalized. According to Mr. Mahama, the NDC “Won a majority of 140 seats”.
Five dead in electoral violence
The elections were generally calm, according to international observers, and the ballot was hailed as an example in West Africa, plagued this year by several violent and contested ballots, especially in Côte d’Ivoire. But police said five people were killed in election violence on Monday and Tuesday. “These were isolated incidents, although some are tragic.”, said Wednesday the head of the observation mission of the European Union, Javier Nart. “Ghanaians voted freely on Monday”, he insisted.
The day after the vote, the cordial understanding between the two candidates, who had signed a “Peace pact” urging them not to condone any violence during the vote and the proclamation of the results, crumbled and the tone hardened. These two old political opponents faced each other for the third time, with equally close results in the two previous polls.
In 2016, Mr. Akufo-Addo won with 53.8%. Four years earlier, in 2012, it had been Mr. Mahama, with 50.7% of the vote. At the time, Mr. Akufo-Addo contested Mr. Mahama’s victory and lodged an appeal with the courts to invalidate the results. Eight months later, after intense debates broadcast live on radio and television, the Supreme Court confirmed Mr. Mahama’s victory. Shortly after the announcement of the verdict, Mr. Akufo-Addo then admitted defeat.
On Thursday, some official reactions started pouring in: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari “Congratulated” on Twitter the “Re-election for a second term” de M. Akufo-Addo. “I also congratulate the people of Ghana on the success of the presidential and parliamentary elections – further proof that constitutional democracy is taking root in West Africa”, he added. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta also congratulated the outgoing head of state.
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