Results trickling in from Ghana’s 2024 presidential elections place former President John Dramani Mahama – who lost his re-election bid to the incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo in 2016 – on track to reclaim the presidency.
Ghana’s Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia, the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has conceded defeat to former President John Dramani Mahama from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), even before the Electoral Commission has officially announced the results of the tightly-contested 2024 presidential elections held on Saturday.
With 976,644 votes, representing 56.39%, Mahama is leading against Bawumia, who secured 738,493 votes, or 42.64%. Mahama is widely expected to be declared president, to be sworn in, in January 2025.
Bawumia addressed the nation from his residence on Sunday, stating that his decision to concede was driven by the need to preserve national harmony amid growing political tensions.
“Let me say that the data from our own internal collation of the election results indicate that former President John Dramani Mahama has won the presidential election decisively. The NDC has also won the parliamentary election. Even though we await the final collation of a number of seats, I believe ultimately these will not change the outcome,” Bawumia said.
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Mahama confirmed the concession via a post on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “I have, this morning, received a congratulatory call from my brother Dr @MBawumia, following my emphatic victory in Saturday’s election.
“Thank you, Ghana.”
The statement was met with widespread reactions, as Ghanaians expressed both surprise and reflection on the state of the nation.
“If you scan through the social media, traditional media, many youth are saying this is a gentleman’s behavior and are commending the Vice President for taking such an initiative,” Ghanaian entertainment pundit Edem Mensah Tsortorme shares with FORBES AFRICA. “The country was in a pensive mood, and to publicly concede when the electoral commission has not received any results at their national collation center, even though some of the collations have taken place in some areas, was a huge statement for the country and this would go a long way to further earn him a lot of respect… The VP’s statement is unifying the nation at this point and is beautiful for our growing democracy, which would further help him in the future.”
Ghanaian Business Development Consultant Frank Say-on says to FORBES AFRICA: “This came as a surprise to most Ghanaians, looking at the fact that some results were still being contended by both the NDC and NPP… No one expected this from the VP and in doing so, he has earned the respect of many Ghanaians as a true statesman.”
Ghanaian student Dorcas Gyamfi too considers this “a bold step, unusual of leaders”.
“This makes him an exceptional leader, a gentleman and great man. Another candidate would have opted to contest the results. He’s a peaceful man, and kudos to him. This has heightened my respect for him,” says Gyamfi to FORBES AFRICA.
Previously, Mahama was the President of Ghana from 2012 to 2107.
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