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Election day in Ghana: Incumbent John Mahama faces Nana Akufo-Addo
Ghana President John Mahama (l) and Challenger Nana Akufo-Addo. PHOTO/File
AP – Voters in Ghana lined up as early as 2 a.m. on Friday to select their next president and parliament in a ballot that is expected to mark the sixth transparent election in this West African nation.
Ghana, a nation with a population of 25 million, was once a troubled nation that suffered five coups and decades of stagnation, before turning a corner in the 1990s. It is now a pacesetter for the continent’s efforts to become democratic.
With the race for the presidency expected to be close, the turnout at the polls was high. Some precincts were serving lines that were 1,000-people deep. Many polls opened late because material had not arrived from the electoral commission, but voters waited patiently to cast their ballots for one of the eight presidential contenders, including President John Dramani Mahama and his main challenger Nana Akufo-Addo.
The incumbent Mahama, a former vice president, was catapulted into office in July after the unexpected death of former President John Atta Mills. Before becoming vice president in 2009, the 54-year-old served as a minister and a member of parliament. He’s also written an acclaimed biography, recalling Ghana’s troubled past, called “My First Coup d’Etat.”
His main challenger is Nana Akufo-Addo, a former foreign minister and the son of one of Ghana’s previous presidents. In 2008, he lost the last presidential election to Mills by less than 1 percent. Both leading candidates are trying to make the case that they will use the nation’s newfound oil wealth to help the poor.
Ghana had one of the fastest growing economies in the world in 2011.
In an interview on the eve of the vote, Akufo-Addo told The Associated Press that the first thing he will do if elected is begin working on providing free high school education for all. “It’s a matter of great concern to me,” he said, adding that he plans to use the oil wealth to educate the population, industrialize the economy and create better jobs for Ghanaians.
