FULL SPEECH: Mahama's first address as President-elect after winning the 2024 Elections

Our best days are ahead of us my brothers and sisters!

A while ago, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana declared me the winner of the 2024 presidential elections. I give thanks and praise to God almighty because this successful outcome is the doing of the Lord.

I want to thank the Vice-President for his statesmanship in conceding the election long before the Commission declared the results. This concession largely diffused the tensions that characterise high-stakes elections such as this.

The results as declared by the EC show that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) with me, John Dramani Mahama, as leader, has just chalked one of the most emphatic victories in the electoral history of the Fourth Republic.

We have, therefore, been bestowed with a very outstanding mandate by the good people of Ghana.

I am deeply honoured and humbled to receive such an overwhelming endorsement from the Ghanaian people, and I wish to thank all who made this possible by going out to vote for me.

I thank all Ghanaians for your continued belief in our democracy despite the severe crisis our nation is going through. I also congratulate our Parliamentary Candidates who have also swept the electoral landscape with a resounding victory.

I have a legion of thanks to give for this emphatic electoral success.

Let me begin by thanking the Almighty God—the creator of heaven and earth, for protecting and preserving us through this whole campaign period.

To paraphrase the Psalmist, I also give thanks to God for preparing a table before me in the presence of my ‘enemies’. And for anointing my head with oil and making my cup overflows.

Let me begin by thanking my wife, Lordina, and my family for standing by me through all the difficult times when victory and success appeared elusive and out of sight.

On those gloomy occasions, you came through and offered me the encouragement to keep soldiering on.

I would like to thank the Vice-President-elect, Prof. Jana Naana Opoku-Agyemang, for being an exemplary and inspirational running mate.

Naana, your decency, humility and sense of responsibility added so much to this campaign. The eyes of every young girl, not only in Ghana but in nations across this continent and the world, are on you today.

Your name has become synonymous with breaking boundaries. You have opened the door for boundless opportunities for our female citizens.

Because of you, the people of Ghana can celebrate the fact that we have made history by electing our FIRST WOMAN as Vice-President.

I must also thank my very loyal and dedicated staff, who have been with me over the last eight years in opposition, for the sacrifice and hard work they have put into this endeavour.

To my campaign team members and the countless volunteers who spent uncountable hours, day and night working to secure victory, I cannot thank you enough.

To the Council of Elders, the gallant leadership of the National Democratic Congress, led by Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia, and our general membership, I am deeply grateful for your dedication and commitment to this cause and your willingness to give everything to ensure success in this election.

To all the religious leaders who prayed for me, to all the civil society organisations and professional groups we consulted in building our message, to all the traditional leaders who warmly welcomed me to your palaces during the campaign, our security officers across the country, the media, and EC staff; to you all, I say a big thank you.

For all its historic undertones, this mandate represents many things for all political actors and those who seek to lead our country.

It shows that the Ghanaian people have little tolerance for bad governance, particularly of the sort witnessed in the last eight years, and that they are willing to take decisive action at critical moments when it matters most.

These eight years have witnessed some of the darkest periods of governance. The crises our beloved country has been through these last several years have left a scar on our national psyche, which may take some time to erase.

This mandate also serves as a constant reminder of what fate awaits us if we fail to meet the aspirations of our people and govern with arrogance.

My brothers and sisters, there is much to do to salvage our country and reset it.

It would have to start with a reset of the relationship between citizens and elected officials. We must never forget that the people of Ghana have chosen us to represent their wishes and best interests.

It is the reason we would be initiating important governance reforms and sometimes initiating severe measures in the next four years to reset our nation and bring it back on track as the black star of Africa.

The journey will not be smooth because the outgoing government has plunged our dear nation into an abyss. However, we are determined to work together with you to build the Ghana we want. We know we shall win!

We intend to work to restore the shattered confidence in our politics and governance arrangements.

This election and its outcome represent an opportunity for a new beginning and as we begin to write this new chapter of our collective story, we need to consciously set the tone for the new direction in which we will be travelling.

“My Brothers and Sisters”

I want those words to be a reminder to all of you - a reminder to me - and to every individual who has just been elected or re-elected that no matter what office you hold, no matter what your political affiliation is or has been in the past, the one thing we share in common is this nation.

It is that WE WANT a much better Ghana.

WE WANT a Ghana that works for everybody, not just a few.

WE WANT a Ghana that considers the well-being of all her citizens and accords them each the ability to live a life of dignity, a life of limitless opportunities.

My Brothers and Sisters,

From the kayayei to the managing directors, to the market women, the bankers, the teachers, security personnel, nurses and doctors, the pastors and drivers, tailors and seamstresses - we are ALL essential to the functioning and forward motion of this country.

We, the PEOPLE of this soil—sons and daughters, brothers and sisters— are, in fact, the GREATEST resource that Ghana has. This country, this land, is not for one person, for one family, for one tribe or ethnic group.

This country, this beautiful, resilient and resource-rich country that we so love, Ghana, is for all of us.

This is our home. But it is not enough to be born here and to die here. We must also be able to LIVE here with satisfaction.

We must be able to love, dream, laugh, eat, dance, drum and share all aspects of the culture that was handed down to us.

And to do that, we must create sustainable and well-paying jobs through the 24-hour economy initiative. Our most basic needs must be met—affordable housing and health care, food and clean water, safe work and fair wages.

My Brothers and Sisters, it is with tremendous humility that I accept this clear mandate that you, the good people of Ghana, have given me to lead this great nation as your next President.

Every vote that was cast in this election carried the same WEIGHT. Every vote also carried a HOPE for the future of our country.

I promise you that I will assemble and lead a government that will carry the WEIGHT of those HOPES and dreams, whether you voted for me or not because every victory is a victory for the people—ALL of the people.

Each time we have FREE and FAIR elections, and then conduct a smooth transfer of power, it reaffirms that our history of leadership and trailblazing was NOT an aberration.

It is NOT by accident that we were the first nation in Black Africa to win our independence from colonial rule.

It is NOT by accident that the first Black person to serve as the UN Secretary-General, the late Kofi Annan, was a Ghanaian.

It is NOT by accident that so many Ghanaians are out in the world blazing new trails and being recognised as leaders in their industries.

Despite being a relatively small nation, Ghana has been and continues to be a MIGHTY force on the world stage.

We are a PROUD people, and we have EVERY reason to be.

When GHANA rises, we all STAND tall and RISE with her. Africa rises!

Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank you, the good people of Ghana, once more.

I know that many of you are feeling frustration and anger, but I ask you today, please do NOT give in to negativity and pessimism.

There have been reports of acts of vandalism at some government facilities and installations. I urge you not to vent your frustration in a criminal enterprise, we must channel your anger and frustration into the positive enterprise of resetting and rebuilding our beloved nation.

Let us maintain AND even MAGNIFY this joy and positivity we feel. We have arrived at THIS moment because so many of you believed that CHANGE was possible.

And now we KNOW that not only is CHANGE possible, but it is also ALREADY in process.

Let us continue to believe that we are ALREADY moving towards the Ghana we want, the Ghana of our hopes and dreams.

And IN this Ghana, where we have turned a NEW chapter and are setting a NEW tone, our BEST days are NOT behind us.

My Brothers and Sisters,

Our BEST days are AHEAD of us.

Forward ever!

May God bless you, and may God continue to bless our homeland Ghana.