Ghana counts votes in tight presidential race, hopes for better times

Ghana voted in a presidential and parliamentary election Saturday amid hopes for an economic revival after the worst financial crisis in a generation that led to a major debt default in the West African nation.

President Nana Akufo-Addo is stepping down next month after serving the two terms allowed by the constitution in Ghana, the world's second-largest cocoa producer and a significant gold miner.

Twelve candidates are vying to succeed him, but the race is seen as primarily between Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, chosen successor of Akufo-Addo's New Patriotic Party (NPP), and former President John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Opinion polls tipped Mahama, who served as president from 2012 to 2016, for a potential comeback.

Mahama, 66, has framed Bawumia as representing a continuation of policies that led to Ghana's economic woes, and has promised to renegotiate terms of a $3 billion IMF bailout secured last year to restructure the country's debts. The crisis peaked in 2022 when Ghana turned to the International Monetary Fund.

"This is the only election that we can all see the direction of the outcome before we start voting," Mahama said after casting his vote in Bole, his hometown in northern Ghana.

"We are hopeful and confident that we'll win," he added.

Bawumia, a 61-year-old former central banker, also expressed confidence that he would win after he voted in his Walewale constituency in northern Ghana.

"By the grace of God, I'm very hopeful of winning this election. I think that we have done a lot of work. We have put our message to the people, I think the message has been well received," he said.

On the campaign trail, Bawumia has highlighted Ghana's gradual recovery from the crisis, with economic growth surging by 6.9% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024, the fastest rate in five years. He told supporters he will foster policies that will strengthen Ghana's recovery.

Both candidates said voting was generally calm and peaceful.

Jubilant NDC supporters took to the streets of Accra's historic Jamestown, chanting, banging pans and blaring horns after results from their polling stations showed the party in a comfortable lead.

The electoral commission said over 99% of polling stations opened on time with voting materials delivered to them.

It said later Saturday evening that turnout was massive, but it was too early to give a specific figure.

Benjamin Bano-Bio, director of electoral services, said voting was calm though there were some pockets of violence.

"Our verification machines were effective, and the entire process was largely peaceful, except for a few places where violence occurred, leading to the death of one person," Bano-Bio told a news conference.

After polls closed at 1700 GMT, election teams immediately began tallying ballots under the watch of agents from political parties before sending them to collation centers.

Some provisional legislative results are expected late Saturday night and Sunday, while the presidential outcome is expected by Tuesday, although trends often allow an early prediction.

Approximately 18.7 million of Ghana's 34 million population are registered to vote.