The sixth president of the 4th Republic, John Dramani Mahama, is returning to the Jubilee House, the seat of government, as the ninth leader of Ghana.
He secured an overwhelming endorsement by the Ghanaian voters in the Saturday, December 7, 2024 poll to serve a second four-year term after losing power in 2016.
At the time of filing this report yesterday, the Electoral Commission had not concluded its collation, but the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, had conceded defeat to his main contender, Mahama.
His concession came less than 24 hours after the polls ended, a situation not familiar with the Ghanaian political trend.
The Vice President of the current government that ends on the eve of January 6, 2024 addressed the nation and said he had called his opponent to congratulate him for winning the polls ‘decisively.’
Acknowledging that the EC had not completed its work, Bawumia indicated that he threw in the towel, following the ‘data’ from the NPP’s “internal collation.”
Dr. Bawumia stressed, “Let me say that the data from our own internal collation of the election results indicate that former president, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, has won the presidential election decisively.
“The NDC has also won the parliamentary election even though we await final collation for a number of seats. However, I believe ultimately that these will not change the overall outcome.”
He continued, “I have just called His Excellency John Dramani Mahama to congratulate him as president-elect of the Republic of Ghana.”
FIRST FEMALE
The victory of the umbrella party sets another record, as Ghana will have the first female vice president in the person of Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang.
She campaigned to the Ghanaian women to see reason in having a representation at the decision table and they have listened to her.
DEMOCRAT
In his concessionspeech, Dr. Bawumia said the acceptance of defeat was the demonstration of a characteristic of “any consummate democrat.”
He assured the president-elect of a smooth transition process, adding that the NPP would not be a “disruptive opposition.”
“We have conceded defeat like any consummate democrat would do, but we have not abandoned the fight to transform Ghana and expand opportunities to all sections of our society.
“We will not be a disruptive opposition, even though we would subject government actions and policies,” the leader of the NPP said.
CONGRATULATIONS
On his X handle, the President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, posted that his main opponent, Dr. Bawumia, had indeed called to congratulate him.
He said, “I have, this morning, received a congratulatory call from my brother, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, following my emphatic victory in Saturday’s election.”
The presidential candidate of the Movement for Change, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, has also congratulated John Dramani Mahama on his reelection and called on all Ghanaians to “accept the decision of the Ghanaian electorate once the official results are released, in order to preserve the peace of our nation.”
The United States Embassy in Ghana has also congratulated John Dramani Mahama. On its Facebook page, the Embassy was particular about Ghana’s commitment to peace, demonstrated once again by the concession of defeat.
The United States that also voted Donald Trump, a one-time president, back into office, said it looks forward to continuing the ties between both countries.
“Congratulations to all Ghanaians on a successful election that reflects the will of the Ghanaian people. The United States looks forward to continuing our strong partnership under John Dramani Mahama.
“We commend all of the candidates that stood for election this cycle and their commitment to peaceful elections and the transfer of power, as so eloquently expressed in Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s concession speech.”
Meanwhile, the EC is not ready with the official results. The concession was based on the internally collated results by the political parties.
