Who are the candidates and what’s at stake?

Ghana is predicted to have a brand new president after elections in December. The present vp, Mahamudu Bawumia, and the previous head of state, John Mahama, are the 2 major candidates vying to win the election.

Nana Akufo-Addo, first elected in 2016, is coming to the top of his second and remaining four-year time period.

On Saturday, December 7, the practically 18.8 million Ghanaians registered to vote will be capable to participate within the nation’s ninth normal election since multi-party politics was reintroduced within the early Nineties.

Over the previous 30 years, the nation has had a collection of hard-fought however peaceable elections. Ghana is thought for the orderly switch of energy between administrations.

On election day, two elections will happen concurrently:

• Presidential – there are 12 candidates
• Parliamentarian – Voters in 275 constituencies throughout the nation will select their MP.

Although 12 aspirants are vying for the presidency, solely two have a sensible probability of profitable. Since the return to multi-party politics in 1992, solely candidates from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) or the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have gained.

The two favorites are:

• Mahamudu Bawumia (NPP) – After serving as Akufo-Addo’s vp for eight years, the 61-year-old Oxford-trained economist may go down in historical past because the nation’s first Muslim president. The former deputy governor of the Central Bank made a reputation for himself for his monetary know-how. But this is also his undoing as he confronted heavy criticism after Ghana plunged into its most extreme financial disaster within the years beneath his watch.
• John Mahama (NDC) – Winning this ballot would signify a comeback for the 65-year-old who already served as president for 4 and a half years beginning in 2012, however then misplaced the 2016 election. In workplace, he was nicknamed “Mr Dumsor,” in reference to the facility outages which have plagued his time in workplace. In the context of the present troublesome financial scenario, Mahama promised an “pressing reset” for the nation which wants an skilled chief on the helm.

Other candidates attracting consideration embody:

• Nana Kwame Bediako – The businessman, also called “Cheddar”, has no political background however has had quite a lot of influence on social media and attracted younger supporters.
• Alan Kyerematen – The former minister, nicknamed “Alan Cash,” left the NPP final 12 months after complaining that the presidential primaries had been biased in opposition to him. He might get some assist from the NPP within the celebration’s heartland within the Ashanti area.

Economic points have overtaken folks’s considerations in view of the elections, particularly the rise in the price of residing. At the top of 2022, the annual inflation price reached 54%. It has since fallen, however costs proceed to rise dramatically.

The World Bank has mentioned as much as 850,000 Ghanaians could possibly be pushed into poverty in 2022 on account of rising costs of products and providers. These “new poor” had been added to the six million already residing in poverty.

By the top of 2022, public funds had been exhausted and little was left to assist the nation’s funds, forcing Ghana to ask the International Monetary Fund for assist.

Youth unemployment and the exodus of Ghanaians searching for higher alternatives elsewhere have additionally been a function of current years.

The NDC referred to as this “abysmal efficiency” and referred to as for a rollback.

The ruling NPP says it has constructed a resilient economic system that’s on the “pinnacle of…transformation”, so now just isn’t the time for change.

Concerns concerning the environmental influence of unlawful gold mining – identified within the nation as “galamsey” – have change into one other main speaking level. Before the vote, a collection of demonstrations happened in opposition to this apply, which has led to the air pollution of a number of giant rivers with harmful chemical substances.

Both major events agree that the problem must be addressed, however whereas the NPP says it will be important for the economic system to permit some small-scale miners to proceed their work, the NDC requires a lot harder regulation and the restriction of latest licenses.

To win a presidential election within the first spherical, a candidate should receive greater than half of the votes solid. If nobody passes that threshold, a runoff between the 2 candidates with the best variety of votes will happen by the top of December.

Parliamentary elections are held beneath the bulk system and the candidate in every constituency with the most important share of votes wins, even when lower than 50%.

On election day, every voter will be capable to present up with their identification card on the assigned polling station, the place their fingerprints can be electronically checked after which the 2 poll papers can be delivered. Each one that voted will then have their little finger marked with indelible ink to keep away from voting a second time.

Since 1992, Ghana has had a number of shut presidential elections.

In 2008, lower than half a share level separated the 2 candidates within the second spherical.

In elections 4 years later, the winner, Mahama, surpassed the 50% threshold within the first spherical with fewer than 80,000 votes.

This outcome triggered a authorized grievance by the NPP, which claimed that tally sheets at some polling stations had been tampered with. The problem was unsuccessful, however led the electoral fee to introduce new measures to make sure better transparency.

Election observers have usually praised the best way the vote was carried out.

Considering the earlier elections, the election fee is prone to announce the outcome by December 10.

Additional reporting by Favor Nunoo and Komla Adom in Accra