Politics
Ghana: Presidential election between incumbent John Mahama and challenger Nana Akufo-Addo expected to be close
Internal divisions have hurt the NDC, which, if it loses, will be the first party in Ghana to exit after a single term. Party founder and former president Jerry Rawlings has been lukewarm in his support, and his wife, Nana Konadu Rawlings, has set up her own party. Perceptions of high-level corruption have also hurt the party.
The NPP is regarded as the more pro-business, pro-western party. Akufo-Addo, 68, a lawyer and former attorney general, describes himself as “the man to trust with Ghana’s money.”
He says the country’s economic growth has created few jobs and few benefits for the majority of its 25 million people. Speaking to the Financial Times earlier this year, Akufo-Addo also promised to renegotiate the terms of a US$3 billion loan from China.
Ethnic and regional factors will influence voting, but increasing urbanization and political awareness mean that policy is expected to play a bigger role than before. Akufo-Addo knows that a repeat of his 2008 loss could end his presidential ambitions.
“The NPP knows how the game is run, so it can’t wait to get their hands on the till,” said Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, executive director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development. “The president controls all the political, economic and symbolic resources. That’s why the vote is so intense.”
Despite Ghana’s democratic credentials, the country’s politics are often acrimonious and vicious, however campaigning has been mostly peaceful.
Besides the main two candidates, there are six other presidential challengers. If no one wins 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will take place on December 28.
Source: Financial Times
