The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has officially declared John Dramani Mahama as the President-elect following the 2024 general elections.
The announcement was made after a thorough collation of results from all 276 constituencies across the country.
Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), secured a decisive victory with 6,328,397 votes representing 56.55% of the valid votes cast, defeating his primary rival, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who garnered 4,657,304 votes representing 41.61%, marking a significant comeback to the presidency after his previous term ended in 2017.
Jean Mensa, EC Chairperson made the declaration in Accra on Monday.
Ahead of the declaration on Sunday, December 8, Dr Bawumia acknowledged Mahama’s victory, conceded defeat and congratulated him on his win.
Mahama who acknowledged this is expected to address the nation shortly after the official declaration by the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa.
The president-elect is expected to thank Ghanaians and reiterate his vision and plans for his new administration from January 2025.
Observers, both local and international, have praised the Electoral Commission for overseeing a transparent and credible election process, despite the challenges encountered during the election period.
JOHN MAHAMA’S PROFILE
Born 29 November 1958, John Dramani Mahama is a Ghanaian politician who previously served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017 and Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012.
He took office as president on 24 July 2012, following the death of his predecessor, John Atta Mills.
Mahama was a Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi from 1997 to 2009 and served as Deputy Minister for Communication between 1997 and 1998 before becoming the substantive Minister for Communications in 1998.
Mahama was the first vice president to assume the presidency following the death of his predecessor and is the first head of state of Ghana to have been born after Ghana’s independence in 1957.
He was elected in the December 2012 election to serve a full term as president.
He contested re-election for a second term in the 2016 election but lost to the New Patriotic Party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo.
This made him the first president in the history of Ghana to not have won a second consecutive term. Mahama was again the NDC’s candidate for president in the 2020 election, where he lost to Akufo-Addo. He was re-elected president in the 2024 election defeating incumbent vice president Mahamudu Bawumia.
