President Bola Tinubu and Nigeria’s Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, have congratulated Ghanaian President-elect, John Mahama, on his victory in the country’s December 7, 2024 general election.
This came after Mahama’s rival, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat, yesterday, saying this was to ease tensions after reported fights in several local constituencies.
Ghana’s ex-president, John Mahama won the country’s presidential election held on Saturday, December 7, 2024.
Although Ghana’s Electoral Commission is yet to announce the results, Bawumia’s ruling National Democratic Congress said its internal review showed Mahama leading with 56.3 per cent of the vote against its 41.3 per cent.
The official results were likely to be announced by the election commission, tomorrow.
A statement signed by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, yesterday, said, “In a telephone call to Mahama, President Tinubu hoped that Mahama’s ascension to power for the second time would further bring stability to the Economic Community of West African States, of which President Tinubu is the chairman.”
The statement is titled, ‘Ghana: President Tinubu congratulates President-Elect John Mahama in a telephone call.’
Tinubu commended the people of Ghana for their commitment to democracy, which was demonstrated through the peaceful and successful conduct of both the presidential and parliamentary elections.
“He applauded Ghanaians for demonstrating again to the world that democracy is the preferred path to achieving political stability, economic development, social justice and transparent governance in Africa.
“He affirmed that Nigeria’s and the region’s belief in the principles of the people’s right to choose their leaders freely will remain a source of pride.
“The Nigerian leader applauded the candidate of the governing New Patriotic Party, the Vice President of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, for conceding defeat before the official announcement by Ghana’s Electoral Commission,” Onanuga revealed.
Tinubu said Bawumia’s stance reinforced Ghana’s democratic ethos.
He noted that Mahama’s return to Jubilee House, having served as President from 2012 to 2017, reflects the Ghanaian people’s trust in his stewardship and vision to take the country to greater heights.
Mahama served as Ghana’s Vice President from 2009 to 2012, Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2009, and held deputy and ministerial roles between 1998 and 2001.
Tinubu renewed his steadfast support for deepening the fraternal bonds between Nigeria and Ghana, underpinned by shared history, cultural ties, mutual support and cooperation, Pan-African goals, democracy, the rule of law, and economic integration.
The Nigerian leader thanked President Nana Akufo-Addo for his exemplary leadership and numerous contributions to Ghana’s progress and regional peace and stability.
He said he looks forward to working with Mahama’s incoming administration to strengthen bilateral ties across various sectors and build a brighter future in the West Africa region.
Meanwhile, INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, also yesterday, commended Ghana’s electoral process, highlighting its innovations and political stability as key factors in the smooth conduct of its 2024 presidential election.
Yakubu, who monitored the election and spoke in a short video obtained by The Tide, observed the political stability inherent in Ghana’s democracy, noting the consistency of its political party structures and voter loyalty.
Yakubu 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.
“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 INEC boss also noted that Ghana’s approach to managing results at the constituency level, inspired by Nigeria, has improved the efficiency of the electoral process.
Previously, all parliamentary and presidential results were sent to the headquarters of the Electoral Commission in Accra for announcement.
However, Ghana has adopted a decentralised system, allowing constituency-level officers to announce parliamentary results locally while only presidential results are sent to Accra.
“The second thing for me is the lesson that Ghana also learnt from Nigeria in the area of managing constituency election results. Until the last election in Ghana, all results come to the Electoral Commission’s headquarters in Accra; which is parliamentary and presidential.
“Although Ghana is not a federal system, they learnt from Nigeria where you have returning officers who announce results for parliamentary elections in the various constituencies around the country. Only the presidential election results come 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.
Expressing satisfaction with the process, Yakubu stated, “We are grateful that the election has 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’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 default.