From David Onuoja, Abuja
The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has commended the electoral umpire of Ghana over it’s Presidential election which was attributed to the innovations and political stability in their country.
The former President of Ghana, John Mahama, was declared winner of the country’s presidential election held on Saturday, December 7, 2024, after his main opponent, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat.
Yakubu, who monitored the election and spoke in Ghana, said that the political stability inherent in Ghana’s democracy and the consistency of its political party structures and voter loyalty is the key factor for the election’s success.
He cited the perseverance of the main opposition candidate, a former Vice President and the current President, Nana Akufo-Addo, who contested multiple elections before achieving success.
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According to him, “Rarely in Ghana do you see people moving from one party to another with every general election. So, that is important.
“It provides stability. It also provides their supporters with stability. So, there are people who have supported political parties for many years. So, whether the party is in power or opposition, they stick to the political party,” he added.
The Vice President who contested with the winner confirmed that he had called his opponent, Mahama the National Democratic Congress candidate and former president to congratulate him, saying, “The people of Ghana have spoken and they have voted for change at this time. We respect this with all humility.
INEC Chairman also said that Ghana’s approach to managing results at the constituency level, inspired by Nigeria, has improved the efficiency of the electoral process.
Saying previously, all parliamentary and presidential results were sent to the headquarters of the Electoral Commission in Accra for announcement.
But this time around, Ghana has adopted a decentralised system, allowing constituency-level officers to announce parliamentary results locally while only presidential results are sent to Accra.
“In Nigeria, this is what we have done and they borrowed a leave from us, and this is the second time they are implementing that. That is why, as you can see, the declaration of the presidential election result was a lot faster than it used to be in the past,” he explained.
According to him, he was equally satisfied with the process as the election had gone very well. “The process and its outcome so far have been commendable, and we continue to support our colleagues in Ghana’s Electoral Commission”.
The defeat in Saturday Ghana’s election ends two terms in power for the governing New Patriotic Party under Akufo-Addo, marked by Ghana’s worst economic crisis in years, involving high inflation and a debt defiers.
