John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has officially been declared Ghana’s president-elect following the 2024 general elections.
The announcement was made by Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), on Monday, December 9, 2024.
The elections, held nationwide on Saturday, December 7, saw Mr. Mahama secure a decisive victory. According to the EC, Mahama garnered 6,328,397 votes, representing 56.55% of the total, while his closest contender, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President and candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), obtained 4,657,304 votes, or 41.61%.
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Jean Mensa clarified that the results were compiled from 267 out of 276 constituencies, as issues in nine constituencies prevented their results from being finalized. However, she noted that even if all votes from these nine constituencies, totaling approximately 947,000, were added to Dr. Bawumia’s tally, the outcome of the election would remain unchanged.
The difference in votes between Mahama and Bawumia stands at 1,671,093.
The total valid votes cast were 11,191,422, with 239,109 rejected ballots. The total voter turnout from the 267 constituencies was recorded at 60.9%, based on the registered voter count of 18,774,159.
While Ghanaians also voted for new Members of Parliament (MPs), several parliamentary results remain outstanding due to disputes. Nevertheless, the NDC has secured a clear majority in Parliament.
The election, which began peacefully, was marred by incidents of violence in some areas, including allegations of attempted rigging and delays in result collation. Post-election unrest has resulted in three fatalities and several injuries, with 89 individuals arrested for various offences, according to the Ghana Police Service.
Despite the tensions, Dr. Bawumia conceded defeat and congratulated Mr. Mahama even before the official results were announced.
Sammy Gyamfi, the NDC’s National Communications Officer, has called on party supporters to maintain peace and avoid conflicts.
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