Ghana's opposition NDC contests results of 'flawed' presidential election
Ghana's opposition candidate John Mahama held a press conference on Sunday to reiterate his rejection of what he deemed "fraudulent" results of the country's presidential and parliamentary elections in which President Nana Akufo-Addo won a second term.
Issued on:
On Wednesday, the electoral commission of Ghana released a statement which said that incumbent leader Nana Akufo-Addo had won 51.59 percent of the vote following Monday's election, ahead of Mahama with 47.36 percent.
But Mahama rejected those numbers and quickly called a press conference to denounce the proceedings.
"I stand before you tonight unwilling to accept the fictionalised results of a flawed election," he told a news conference.
He referred to the fact that result was announced without the presidential results from the Techiman South constituency in the Brong Ahafo region which was being challenged by both Akufo-Addo's New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Mahama's National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“The Electoral Commission of Ghana has never brought its credibility to this historic low at such a crucial moment of election results declaration. In fact the litany of irregularities and blatant rigging for a candidate is obvious and most embarrassing,” he said.
The 62-year-old claimed that "numerous steps have been taken to manipulate the results of the election in favour of the incumbent."
According to the provisional results published by the electoral commission, Akufo-Addo's NPP won 137 seats in parliament, while Mahama's NDC won 136.
The full results of the parliamentary elections have not yet been announced but the opposition leader said his party had in fact won 140 seats.
On Sunday, the NDC published a press release in which they pointed to calculations which the party said were "proof" that the electoral commission had manipulated the figures.
The party argues that "even if the EC computed the percentages of votes of the twelve political parties, the total percentage would be 97.67 percent and not the 100 percent as declared based on its first figure," the NDC document said.
The NDC insisted that even with the Techiman South constituency added in, the total votes for Akufo-Addo only resulted in 49.62 percent, which is lower than the necessary 50+1 percent to win.
Long-standing rivals
Mahama and Akufo-Addo are long-standing rivals and this was their third election battle.
Akufo-Addo and Mahama had signed a symbolic peace pact ahead of the vote, which the 15-nation regional bloc ECOWAS urged "all political parties and their leadership to respect."
In a victory speech to supporters Wednesday, the 76-year-old president-elect said it was time "irrespective of political affiliations, to unite, join hands and stand shoulder to shoulder."
"The Ghanaian people through the results have made it loud and clear that the two parties, the NPP and NDC, must work together especially in parliament, for the good of the country."
Observers, both Ghanaian and foreign, viewed polling as generally free and fair, but police said five people were killed and 19 injured in election-related violence.
Mahama called on the international community "to remain engaged in what is happening in Ghana and to take careful note of the current threat that is being waged to our democracy."
One of the RFI correspondents in Ghana noted that the public is tired of the quarelling and just want to get on with their daily lives.
Photo de @VincentPapaye 🇬🇭 https://t.co/Sghh7nuq8u
— Marine Jeannin (@Marine_Jeannin_) December 12, 2020
While Ghana has made large strides in recent years, many still live in extreme poverty, with scarce access to clean water or electricity.
Severely hit by the pandemic, growth in the nation of 30 million people is expected to fall this year to its lowest in three decades.
The International Monetary Fund is pencilling in growth of 0.9 percent for the country, down sharply from 6.5 percent growth in 2019.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe