Ghana Votes in Tight Election

Ghana’s elections on Saturday, with vice president and former central banker Mahamudu Bawumia and opposition, ex-president John Mahama facing off in a closely contested race.

Voters will choose a successor to President Nana Akufo-Addo, who steps down after his legally allowed two terms, and will also elect the country’s new parliament.

With a history of political stability, Ghana’s two main parties, the current ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC), have alternated in power almost equally.

Bawumia voted early on Saturday in his hometown of Walewale in the north of Ghana, wearing a traditional white smock.

“I am very hopeful of winning this election,” he told reporters. “I think we have done a lot of work with passing our message to the people and the message has been well received.”

Ghana’s government temporarily closed all land borders on Friday night through Sunday to “ensure the integrity” of the vote, an interior ministry statement said.

First-time voter  Abdullah Mohammed, 19, said he did benefit from Akufo-Addo’s free high school programme, but he saw the need for change with inflation weighing on families.

“I just want a good president who will bring changes. I don’t really care if it is Bawumia or Mahama,” he said in Accra’s Nima district.

The spread of illegal gold mining also became an election issue. Akufo-Addo promised to stop it,  but it has expanded, poisoning riverways and impacting cacao farmlands, which is a major source of export income.