Millions of Ghanaians have headed to the polls in a presidential election after a campaign dominated by what many see as the west African country’s worst economic crisis in a generation.
Polls opened at 7am and will close at 5pm, with early results expected late on Saturday. The first official results will be released by Tuesday.
Twelve candidates are vying to take over the baton from Nana Akufo-Addo. The vice-president, Mahamudu Bawumia, of the ruling New Patriotic party (NPP), and the former president John Mahama, of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), are the main challengers. Two fringe candidates are also running as independents: the former trade and industry minister Alan Kyerematen and the businessman Nana Bediako.
Bawumia, a 61-year-old former deputy governor of the bank of Ghana, served two terms alongside the incumbent after the duo were first elected in 2016 and then 2020. Both times, the opposing ticket was led by Mahama, 66.
After voting in the northern town of Bole, Mahama praised the smooth election process and expressed confidence in his own victory. “In other elections, it had not been clear,” he told reporters. “But this election, everyone sees where it is heading.”
To win the election, a candidate has to accrue more than half of the votes cast. If that does not happen, the two candidates with the highest number of votes go on to the second round. Some have predicted that there could be a runoff because of the two minor candidates, but not everyone is convinced.
“My argument is always that if the elections go to a runoff, it’s in spite of these people, it’s not because of them,” said Joshua Zaato, a senior lecturer at the department of political science at the University of Ghana.
The stakes are high: experts say Akufo-Addo did brilliantly in managing the Covid pandemic and introducing a free high-school policy, but let his people down in many other ways. Once one of the region’s economic powerhouses, and a darling of the international community, Ghana has struggled in recent years with high public debt, a weakened local currency and high inflation. A cost-of-living crisis has had a severe impact on vast swathes of the population, one in five of whom live in poverty. Presidential pet projects – such as a controversial $400m (£314m) cathedral project that remains a crater – have also caused anger.
This has led to considerable voter apathy or pessimism, especially among some younger people in Accra and in the western and central regions. Even among those voting, there is a sense of pessimism about the future.
“The way the country is, I’m unable to put a finger to the direction we want to move in,” said Mary Ofori, a mother of two and food vendor in Accra’s Kantamanto market, who is voting for Mahama. “Both parties don’t seem be leading us in the right direction.”
Eva, a 45-year-old insecticides and aerosols seller, refused to blame the government despite admitting that the economy was in a bad state. “The bible prophecies of these hard times,” said Eva, who added that she had received divine confirmation of a Bawumia victory and was thus voting for him. “The economic downturn is a global issue, not only peculiar to Ghanaians.”
Both candidates are from the north, but if he wins, Bawumia will be the first Muslim president since 1992, in a country where three-quarters of the population are Christians.
Mahama, who held the post from 2012 to 2017, is hoping to become the first president to serve two non-consecutive terms.
Some polls have put Mahama ahead of Bawumia but nevertheless the ruling party claims it will win the elections comfortably.
“The confidence comes from going into a contest against somebody who has been given the opportunity before,” said Haruna Mohammed, its deputy general secretary, said. “He failed us [but] we have done a lot for the people of Ghana.”
On Thursday, the last day of campaigning, both parties held massive rallies in the capital. “This election is a clear choice between the future and the past,” said Bawumia, whose rally was held at a sports park in the University of Ghana. “My opponent represents the past and I, Dr Bawumia, represent the future of this country.”
A 20-minute walk away at a park in the Madina neighbourhood, the NDC held its own event where Mahama urged voters to “unlock a better future” by voting for him. “This is our moment, and the time is now to bring about the change we need in order to reset Ghana,” he said.