Ghana is preparing for its third political showdown between Ghana’s former president John Mahama and incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo on December 7 in what is expected to be a two-horse race.
Ghana, reputed to be a democratic example in West Africa, is preparing to elect its president on Monday in what promises to be a particularly close election between two long-time political adversaries.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, 76, a candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), is seeking a second term against his predecessor John Mahama, 62, leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In 2012 and 2016, they had already competed for the highest office. Each narrowly won one of the two ballots.
So Monday’s election looks like déjà vu, even though 11 other candidates, including three women, are in the running.
The contenders will have to convince Ghana’s 17 million voters, more than half of whom are under 35, who will also elect their 275 deputies.
Unemployment, infrastructure and roads, education, and health are the main issues, according to pre-election surveys.
Since the early 2000s, this country, rich in gold, cocoa, and more recently oil, has experienced strong growth. And the rate of extreme poverty has been halved in less than 25 years.
For his part, Mr. Mahama will have to make people forget the accusations of economic mismanagement that prevented his re-election in 2016.
This year, however, he can count on his running mate, Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, a former Minister of Education with a reputation for integrity and from the Centre, one of the key regions to win the election.
In the polls, Mr. Akufo-Addo is ahead of Mr. Mahama, but many analysts predict that his party’s majority in Parliament could erode.
With the coronavirus – which has officially affected more than 50,000 people and killed more than 300 since March.
As the two reigning parties in the country, Ghanaians are anticipating which party will emerge the winner as well as the party with the most seats in Parliament.
Source: Africanews.com
