SUN DEC 08 2024-theGBJournal| Former President John Dramani Mahama has been declared president-elect of Ghana following sweeping victory at the polls which held on Saturday, one which was defined by very low turn out and religious divide.
Mahama, 65, was President of Ghana from 2012 until 2017. The election was held after President Nana Akufo-Addo served his official limit of two terms in office.
”From the provisional results we have seen collated so far, it is very clear Ghanaians have rejected eight years of corruption, eight years of seat capture, eight years of wastage, eight years of nepotism ad cronyism,” the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) Sammy Gyamfi said in election update press briefing in the capital Accra as the result collation neared conclusion.
Insiders say the final result will be made official by the end of the day by the EC, but the country’s Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accepted defeat and congratulated John Mahama on his victory.
”Our own internal collation of the result indicate that former President John Mahama has won the presidential election decisively,” he said in press conference also in Accra.
”The NDC has also won the Parliamentary election even though we await final collation for a number of seats,” Bawumia added.
The governing NPP lost its key strong hold, as well as one the biggest constituency in the country, Greater Accra, and the Dome Kwabenya constituency, to set the stage for its nationwide rout. The party also lost the Ashanti Region where religion played a major role.
As at the last count, seating MP’s from the NPP, like Hawa Koomson, Ursela, KT Hammond, Prince Hamidu Armah and Peter Amewu, have all lost their seats.
Other notable faces that lost are Andy Appiah-Kubi, Henry Quartey, Andrew Mercer and Bernard Okoe-Boye.
Our contributor in Accra, Nana Kyari, said the country remains peaceful, but one person died at Kasoa, a body guard for the MP elect.
”Police are still investigating the cause of death,” she said.
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