Public frustration
over Ghana's economic travails, including high prices and a dearth of jobs, has
dominated the run-up to Saturday's general election, which will likely test the
nation's longstanding democratic credentials.
Support for
outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo and his ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP)
party has sunk in his second term amid the West African nation's worst economic
crisis in a generation, along with cost-of-living
protests and turmoil in its vital cocoa and gold
industries.
Indeed, the
clamour for change has tipped the
presidential and legislative race firmly in favour of opposition leader John
Dramani Mahama and his National Democratic Congress party, polls
show, though voter patience with the political process is running low.
"The country
is ruined. I will vote but I don't think it will change anything," said
18-year-old high school graduate Emmanuel Kwaku Jr, who will be casting his
ballot for the first time.
An October survey
by pan-African research group Afrobarometer found 82% of Ghanaians felt the country
was headed in the wrong direction and less than half expected change for the
better in the next year.
"We have the
trappings of democracy: we do the elections every four years, yet the dividends
... are low," said Abena Tekyiwaa Manuh, senior fellow of the Accra-based
Centre for Democratic Governance (CDD). "That's dangerous."
Ghana's commitment
to two-term limits for presidents and largely peaceful transfers of powers have
increasingly made it an outlier in a region
swept by coups and constitutional shenanigans in recent years.
But whoever wins
the election will be under pressure to deliver on campaign promises to improve
the livelihoods of citizens, or the largely youthful population could begin to
wonder if democracy is overrated, said Manuh and two Western diplomats.
"We see a lot
of anger among the youth, a sense of hopelessness but also a sense of change.
If that doesn’t happen at the elections, what will happen?" asked one of
the diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"There is growing
concern Ghana’s peace and democracy is fragile."
A 'TRICKY PHASE'
Twelve candidates
are vying for the presidency, with Mahama and the ruling party's Vice President
Mahamudu Bawumia seen as the main contenders.
Both have vowed to
turn the page on economic instability since 2020 that saw inflation soar
above 50%, the International Monetary Fund wade in with a
$3 billion bailout, and a mass
restructuring of Ghana's debts.
Polls open for the
18.7 million registered voters at 0700 GMT and close at 1700, with legislative
results due by early on Monday and presidential results by Tuesday, although
trends often allow the outcome to be called early.
The vote results period
"is going to be a tricky phase" as tensions may rise due to low trust
in institutions, including the electoral commission, said Jonas Claes,
elections lead for the EU delegation in Ghana.
Mahama and his
party have repeatedly questioned the commission's ability to deliver credible
elections, alleging voter
roll irregularities and other issues.
Bawumia and the
ruling NPP say the allegations show Mahama is preparing to reject the results
if they do not go his way.
"I don't think widespread violence is to be expected, but it's difficult to be 100% sure," Claes said.
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