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Election day in Ghana: Incumbent John Mahama faces Nana Akufo-Addo
Policy-oriented and intellectual, Akufo-Addo is favored by the young and urbanized voters. He was educated in England and comes from a privileged family. The ruling party has depicted him as elitist.
“The idea that merely because you are born into privilege that automatically means you are against the welfare of the ordinary people, that’s nonsense,” he said.
Many voters are expecting to see a faster improvement in their daily lives given recent economic growth. But voters seem almost evenly split over who can best deliver on the promise of development.
Kojo Mabwa said that he is voting for Akufo-Addo, because he is impressed by his promise of free education. He dismissed critics that say the project is too ambitious. “He said he can do free education. They say he can’t do it. But he can!” said the 47-year-old. “There is money. You see, (the ruling party) has done nothing for us. They are misusing our money.”
Paa Kwesi, a 30-year-old systems analyst, said he doesn’t think Akufo-Addo is making promises he can keep.
“He says he can do free education, but you have to crawl before you can walk. It’s not possible,” he said.
Many analysts believe Mahama and Akufo-Addo are neck-and-neck.
Results are expected to be announced by Sunday. If no one wins an absolute majority, a second round of voting will be held on December 28. All candidates have signed a peace pact and have promised to accept the results of Friday’s poll.
