Ghana is set to hold its presidential election in December with two leading candidates: Mahamudu Bawumia (NPP) and John Mahama (NDC). Economic questions have topped people’s concerns, especially the rising cost of living. The country has been plagued by inflation, with the annual rate hitting 54% at the end of 2022.
Gold, prices, and jobs: What\u0027s at stake in Ghana\u0027s elections?
Ghana is set to hold its presidential election in December, with two leading candidates: Mahamudu Bawumia (NPP) and John Mahama (NDC). The country has a reputation for orderly transfer of power between administrations.
Economic questions have topped people’s concerns, especially the rising cost of living. At the end of 2022, the annual inflation rate hit 54%. Concerns over the environmental impact of illegal gold mining have also become a major talking-point.
The presidential election is contested by 12 candidates, with only two having a realistic chance of winning. To win in the first round, a candidate must get more than half of the votes cast. If no one passes this threshold, a second round run-off featuring the two candidates with the largest number of votes will take place by the end of December.
Election observers have frequently praised the way the vote has been run. Since 1992, Ghana has had several tight presidential elections, including in 2008 and 2012. The electoral commission has introduced measures to ensure greater transparency following a legal complaint from the NPP in 2012.
The parliamentary election is run on a first-past-the-post basis with the winner being the candidate in each constituency with the largest share of votes, even if that is less than 50%.
Going by previous elections, the electoral commission is likely to announce the result by 10 December.
On polling day, two elections will take place simultaneously: Presidential and Parliamentary.
The presidential election is being contested by 12 candidates, with only two having a realistic chance of winning. Mahamudu Bawumia (NPP) and John Mahama (NDC) are the front-runners.
Economic questions have topped people’s concerns in the build-up to the election, especially the rising cost of living.
The country has been plagued by inflation, with the annual rate hitting 54% at the end of 2022.
The World Bank said as many as 850,000 Ghanaians may have been pushed into poverty in 2022 because of the rising prices of goods and services.
Concerns over the environmental impact of illegal gold mining, known as ‘galamsey’, have become a major talking-point.
A series of demonstrations over the practice, which has led to the pollution of several major rivers with dangerous chemicals, have been held in the build-up to the vote.
Since 1992, Ghana has had several tight presidential elections.
In 2008, less than half a percentage point separated the two candidates in the second round.
In the election four years later, the winner, Mahama, crept over the 50% threshold in the first round by less than 80,000 votes.
