President Nana Akufo-Addo Wins Elections as the Opposition Cries Foul

The outgoing Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo wins after they released the official results. Tensions are increasing in the country as his adversary cries foul play. On Wednesday, Ghana’s electoral commission proclaimed President Nana Akufo-Addo as the winner of the country’s presidential election. The 76-year-old Akufo-Addo, a center-right member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), defeated the central-left National Democratic Congress (NDC) opponent and predecessor John Dramani Mahama 51,59 percent of the vote. The Ghanaian Constitution is scheduled to complete its second and final term.

Out of a population of 17 million and 38,000 polling stations in the world, they cast over 13 million votes. Electors have now been selected for the national parliament 275 legislators. In political violence, five people were killed. Similarly, Ghana’s poll on Monday was mostly peaceful — unlike some neighbors who witnessed conflict since the recent referendum, the nation has been routinely accused of bribery until they released official findings. They conducted their polls on Monday.

Ghana’s Chair Jean Adukwei Mensa thanked election staff that, amid the coronavirus pandemic, the polls are running seamlessly and publicly. The NDC denied the election results and challenged Haruna Iddrisu, the party’s MP, to AFP’s decision of the Electoral Commission. Conversely, Mensa said that while Mahama got the rest of the votes, it would still not change its outcome. They contested the results for one constituency.

Long-awaited Results, President Nana Akufo-Addo Wins

It took multiple days for the electoral commission to take up the votes and to urge for restraint while “working around the clock.” Roughly 12,000 observers attended polling day and confirmed only a few bullying incidents. “These problems have been isolated and have not compromised the general integrity of the mechanism,” said an observational coalition on Tuesday. “It has been challenging.”

Ghana’s peaceful transfers of authority have peacefully taken place for nearly two decades, compared with nearby Guinea and Sierra Leone, where unrest has interrupted recent political processes. On Friday, the two leaders signed a historic deal to settle all conflicts in the courts and to stop violence in the face of near tensions, as well as the country’s first economic slowdown over decades. Over 60,000 security officers were stationed to ensure order in polling stations.

Accusations of Fraud

Even though President Nana Akufo-Addo wins the election, tension has escalated since Thursday night when Mahama warned his rival not to loot the vote. They accused the sitting President of threatening voters by using the military.

“You cannot use the military to overturn some results in constituencies that we have won. We will resist any attempts to subvert the sovereign will of the Ghanaian people,” Mahama said at a press conference in the capital Accra.

The candidate’s remarks represented those of US President Donald Trump, who lost the presidential election in November and accused his opponent of rigging the election. Mr. President-electoral candidate Kojo Oppong Nkrumah was swift to reprove the allegations as baseless or ‘irresponsive.’ If the findings of the electoral commission were not approved, they have shadowed the political credentials of the nation.

Both Sides Claim Success

Until the results came out of the election commission, NDC communications director Sammy Gyamfi, told DW that the commission would not operate well, “but they will struggle and they couldn’t alter people’s will. We don’t want anyone into an early celebration.”

John Boadu, general secretary of the NPP, told DW of the implications of accusations coming from the NDC: “Creating insinuations creates a lack of credibility on our entire election process. We are happy to announce that for the next parliament it is obvious from the results declared across the constituencies that the NPP will still maintain a majority in parliament.”

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