It's Nana Akufo-Addo again- Declared President-elect

More than 48 hours after the close of voting last Monday, the patience of Ghanaians, who had waited anxiously for the results of the presidential poll, was rewarded when the Electoral Commission (EC) declared the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President-elect minutes before 6 p.m. yesterday.

It was a nation in waiting when the EC Chairperson, Mrs Jean Mensa, who is also the Returning Officer for the presidential election, took her seat at the EC Headquarters in Accra to make the historic declaration: “Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, on the basis of the foregoing election results, and by the power vested in me as the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana and Returning Officer for the presidential election, it is my duty and honour to declare Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo President-elect of the Republic of Ghana.”

After the declaration, there was spontaneous jubilation across the country, which went deep into the night, particularly among supporters of the sitting President.

Election results

President Akufo-Addo secured 6,730,413 votes in the 2020 presidential election, representing 51.595 per cent of the total valid votes cast, to beat his closest contender, former President John Dramani Mahama, the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who polled  6,214,889, representing 47.366 per cent of the total valid votes cast.

Mrs Mensa, flanked by her two deputy chairpersons, Dr Bossman Eric Asare and Mr Samuel Tettey, announced that the results were without the outcome of the elections in the Techiman South Constituency, but explained that “even if we added the 128,018} total number of voters in that constituency} to the results of the second candidate, it would not change the outcome of the presidential election; hence our declaration of the 2020 results without that of Techiman South”.

At the Headquarters of the EC for the declaration of the results were the ECOWAS Chief Observer, Mrs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf; Mr Alexander Matus, who represented the EU Election Observer Mission Chief Observer, Mr Javier Nart, and the US Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs Stephanie S. Sullivan.

Agents of all the presidential candidates, except that of the NDC, were also present to observe proceedings.

Other results

Christian Kwabena Andrews of the Ghana Union Movement (GUM) obtained 105,565 votes, being 0.805 per cent of the valid votes cast, while Ivor Kobina Greenstreet of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) secured 12,215 votes, representing 0.093 per cent of the valid votes cast, with Akua Donkor of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) securing 5,575, being 0.042 per cent of the votes cast.

Henry Herbert Lartey of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) recorded 3,574 votes, representing 0.027 per cent of the votes cast; Hassan Ayariga of the All People’s Congress (APC), 7,140 votes (0.054 per cent); Percival Kofi Akpaloo of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), 7,690 votes (0.059 per cent) and David Asibi Apasera of the People’s National Convention (PNC), 10,887 votes (0.083 per cent).

The rest are Brigitte Akosua Dzogbenuku of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), 6,848 votes (0.052 per cent); Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings of the National Democratic Party (NDP), 6,612 votes (0.50 per cent) and Alfred Kwame Asiedu Walker, the only independent candidate, 9,703 votes, being 0.074 per cent of the total valid votes cast.

Polling stations

The elections were conducted in 38,622 polling stations across the country and in 275 constituencies. 

Background

Nana Akufo-Addo and former President Mahama were the main frontrunners in the presidential election.

The contest between them was the third, the two having met in the 2012 and the 2016 presidential polls.

In 2012, Mr Mahama defeated then candidate Akufo-Addo in the presidential election after securing 50.7 per cent of the votes cast, with Nana Akufo-Addo obtaining 47.74 per cent.

Dissatisfied with the outcome, Nana Akufo-Addo took the matter to the Supreme Court in the famous 2012 Election Petition, but the court ruled that Mr Mahama had won the election lawfully. 

In 2016

Nana Akufo-Addo came back strongly in 2016 to defeat then President Mahama, after amassing 53.85 per cent of the total votes cast, while Mr Mahama had 44.40 per cent of the votes.

The stage was thus set for the third and final contest between the two, as only Mr Mahama could have the opportunity to contest the Presidency again.