Ghana ’ s President Nana Akufo -Addo has won a second term after a tightly contested presidential election , the Electoral Commission of Ghana announced on Wednesday , beating his long -time opponent John Mahama.
Akufo -Addo of the New Patriotic Party received 6 , 730 , 413 or 51. 59 per cent of total votes while Mahama of the National Democratic Congress received 6 , 214 , 889 or 47. 36 per cent of total votes , the commission’ s chairperson Jean Adukwei Mensa said at a press briefing on Wednesday .
“On the basis of the foregoing election results and by the powers vested in me as the chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana and the interim officer of the election , it is my duty and honour to declare Nana Akufo -Addo as president -elect of the Republic of Ghana , ” Mensa said at the press briefing monitored by The PUNCH .
Monday’ s presidential and parliamentary vote has been viewed by observers as generally free and fair.
But Mahama on Tuesday accused Akufo -Addo of showing “credentials that are very undemocratic ” and harnessing the military to sway the outcome .
“You cannot use the military to try and overturn some of the results in constituencies that we have won . We will resist any attempts to subvert the sovereign will of the Ghanaian people , ” the 62-year -old former president said.
He made the accusations after rumours circulated on social media that he had conceded defeat but he refuted the claim , saying he has not congratulated anyone .
Mahama and Akufo -Addo , 76, are old rivals who have faced off at the ballot box twice before .
Mahama was president for four years until 2016, before being succeeded by Akufo -Addo . Both of those elections were determined by small margins .
Despite the sharp words , Ghana has a history of electoral stability and grievances are typically pursued through the courts .
Akufo -Addo and Mahama had on Friday signed a symbolic peace pact, which the 15-nation regional bloc ECOWAS urged “all political parties and their leadership to respect
