Ghanaians are going to exercise their constitutional mandate today, December 7, 2024 by electing a leader they deem fit for the country.
Voting will start at 7:00am across the 16 regions of Ghana and 275 constituencies. Voting closes at exactly 5:00pm.
The election is set for both presidential and parliamentary candidates where successful candidates will be in power for a term of four years.
The Electoral Commission of Ghana has revealed that a total of 18,774,159 valid voters are to cast their ballots across more than 4,000 polling stations across the country today.
The purpose of the election is to elect a president and 276 parliamentarians to steer the affairs of the country for the next four years.
Security officers EC Officials and media personnel had their special voting on Monday 2nd December 2024 where 131,478 eligible voters cast their ballots.
A presidential candidate has to secure a 50 percent plus one vote to be declared winner. While a parliamentary candidate has to get a majority of the votes cast.
Twelve (12) candidates are contesting in the presidential race. After months of campaigning and sharing their political ideas and promises with Ghanaians to give them their mandate, today December 7, happens to be the day the citizens will elect a President for the next four years.
The Presidential candidates were initially 13 on the ballot. However, Madam Akua Donkor who was the founder and leader of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), passed away a few weeks before the elections. Despite her passing, the Electoral Commission maintained the candidates on the ballot indicating that any vote the late Akua Donkor shall get will be counted as a rejected ballot.
Ghana has been a country of peace and stability with smooth transition of power between ruling and opposition parties.
Since 1992, 8 successful elections have been held in the country during which power was transferred to the opposition on three different occasions.
As Ghanaians go to the polls today to cast their ballots, the country faces yet another test of our democracy.
A lot of political analysts have predicted a landslide victory for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by former president John Dramamni Mahama on the basis of the economic crisis Ghana has been pushed into by the NPP. Because since Ghana’s return to multiple-party democracy in 1992, no political party has been in power for more than 8 years.
Others who oppose this opinion are of the view that despite the economic challenges the country is facing, the economy is getting back on track; an indication that Ghana is on the right path to its recovery and handlers of the economy should be given another opportunity to govern the country for the next 4 years.
There is a believe that a political party can only be in power for a maximum of two terms(8 years). This has become a trend in recent years. For instance President Kuffuor of the NPP won the 200 elections and was in power for two terms.
After his two terms(8 years) which is the maximum a presidential candidate can be in power, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by the late Atta-Mills also took power in 2009.
After 8 years of the NDC being in power, the NPP took office in 2016. Today, happens to be exactly eight 8 years the NPP has been in power and is left for Ghanaians to decide whether to prolong the NPP’s stay in office or give the NDC a try.
Today’s election happens to be a keenly contested race between the Vice president and flag bearer of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and former president John Dramamni Mahama.
For nearly 30 years, the NPP and the NDC have dominated the political landscape of the country and no other political party has been able to break the dominance of the two political parties.
This year’s election has seen new faces who have shown the political landscape of Ghana can turn in their favor and they are ever ready to lead the country.
One of such candidates is the founder of the Movement for Change, Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten, the former minister of Trade and Industry in the Akufo-Addo led government. Also, Nana Kwame Bediako, a businessman contesting as an independent candidate in the presidential race has won the hearts of Ghanaians with his political ideas and vision for Ghana.
These two and others are challenging Ghana’s two party system governance with an alternative.
