In a surprising turn of events, Mahamudu Bawumia, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, has conceded defeat to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2024 presidential election.
Ghana's Vice President and NPP
candidate, Mahamudu Bawumia, announced this concession during a press briefing
on Sunday, December 8, barely a day after voting ended on Saturday. His
statement came before the official declaration of the presidential results by
the Electoral Commission which is still collating results from 16 regions.
Bawumia's concession followed a
press conference held by the NDC, where they claimed an early lead in the
election. He stated that he was conceding based on provisional results from
internal tallies within his party, which indicated that NDC's presidential
candidate, John Mahama, had won the election “decisively”.
The NDC has claimed to have
secured a majority in the parliamentary elections, although they were still
awaiting final results from several constituencies. Bawumia admitted that final
tallies would not alter the overall outcome of their loss. He also revealed
that he had called Mahama to congratulate him, a gesture that Mahama confirmed
in a social media post.
According to the NDC, provisional
results gathered from their agents across the 276 constituencies indicated an
"unprecedented, historic victory." Sammy Gyamfi, the National
Communications Officer of the NDC, stated during a party press conference on
Sunday morning, "We have provisional results that show how the people of
Ghana voted. From the results we have seen so far from our internal collation,
it is clear that Ghanaians have rejected eight years of corruption and state
capture."
Bawumia emphasized the importance of respecting the voters' decision, saying, "The people of Ghana have spoken; they have voted for change at this time, and we respect that decision with all humility." He explained that his early concession was intended to reduce tension and maintain Ghana's reputation as a beacon of democracy in Africa. "It is important that the global investor community continues to believe in the peaceful and democratic character of Ghana. These are our most important assets. Ghana is more important than our individual ambitions, and we must put Ghana first," he stated.
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