Ghana waits for election results as rival parties claim win

Record ID: 76544

  • Title: Ghana waits for election results as rival parties claim win
  • Date: 9th December 2016
  • Summary: POSTER WITH PHOTO OF CANDIDATE AKUFO-ADDO READING (English): "NANA AKUFO-ADDO: MADE FOR GHANA / A MAN WHO VALUES FREEDOM OF SPEECH"
  • Embargoed: 24th December 2016 13:45
  • Keywords: Ghana Accra election John Mahama Nana Akufo-Addo NPP NDC
  • Location: ACCRA, GHANA
  • City: ACCRA, GHANA
  • Country: Ghana
  • Reuters ID: LVA0025C5WSAV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Ghanaians in the capital Accra said on Friday (December 9, 2016) they were eager for the country's Electoral Commission to officially announce the results of the presidential election. Two influential private radio stations say opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo has already won the vote.
    Private Joy FM and Citi FM radio stations said on Friday that Akufo-Addo had won the election with an absolute majority over President John Mahama.
    The two stations based their projections on results from Wednesday's election given at the constituency level ahead of an official final tally that the electoral commissioner said would likely be announced by Saturday.
    Joy FM's website showed Akufo-Addo winning with 53 percent of the vote and Mahama on 45.2 percent, based on a count of 218 constituencies out of 275 in total. Citi FM gave Akufo-Addo 54.8 percent based on 190 constituencies.
    One voter called for the EC to be credible and transparent when releasing the results.
    "Even though the two parties are in a tight corner, it's up to the EC to bring something transparent for people," said Bruse Bernard.
    In his first comment since the election, Mahama said on Twitter on Friday he would wait for official results, in a seemingly softer tone from Thursday when a senior member of his National Democratic Congress (NDC) camp said Mahama was ahead.
    If confirmed, it would be a bigger victory than recent presidential elections.
    Akufo-Addo said on Thursday he was "quietly confident" of victory and his party had also picked up 49 seats in parliament to give it a majority.
    Ghana's record of peaceful elections since 1992 and regular changes of government through the ballot box stands as a beacon in the region.
    Mahama fought the election against the backdrop of an economy that has slowed since he took power in 2013, in part because of lower global prices for the West African country's exports of gold, oil and cocoa.
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