Incumbent Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo has won the contest held on Monday, according to the country’s electoral body.
He polled 6, 730, 413 votes to defeat his closest challenger, John Dramani Mahama, who garnered 6, 214, 889 ballots.
However, his opponents kick and call foul play in the process, thereby raising tension in the normally peaceful country.
The Ghanaian electoral commission yesterday declared Nana Akufo-Addo winner of the country’s presidential election.
The 76-year-old from the center-right New Patriotic Party (NPP) better Mahama of the center-left National Democratic Congress (NDC) by 51.59 per cent of the vote.
It is expected that this will be his second and final term in accordance with the Ghanaian constitution.
More than 13 million ballots were cast out of a total electorate of 17 million and across 38,000 polling stations throughout the country. Voters also chose 275 lawmakers for the national parliament.
Five people were killed in election violence. Otherwise, Ghana’s poll on Monday was carried out largely peacefully — a regular achievement for the West African country unlike for some of its neighbors that have seen violence following recent elections — although the process was mired by accusations of fraud before the official results were released.
Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Jean Adukwei Mensa, lauded election workers for good conduct despite COVID-19 pandemic.
Results of one constituency remained disputed, Mensa, however, said even if all remaining votes went for Mahama, it still would not change the overall outcome.
