The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has expressed his admiration for a political tradition in Ghana where politicians seldom defect to another party during general elections—a practice that is quite common in Nigeria.
Yakubu also praised Ghana’s electoral process, highlighting its innovations and political stability as key factors contributing to the smooth conduct of the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
According to Daily Trust, Ghana’s former president, John Dramani Mahama, won the presidential election held on Saturday, with his main opponent, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), conceding defeat.
In a briefing at his residence, Bawumia announced that Mahama's National Democratic Congress (NDC) also won the parliamentary elections. He confirmed that he had called Mahama to congratulate him, stating, “The people of Ghana have spoken and they have voted for change at this time. We respect this with all humility.”
The defeat in Saturday’s election concludes two terms in power for the governing party under Nana Akufo-Addo, which was marked by Ghana’s most severe economic crisis in years, characterized by high inflation and a debt default.
Prof. Yakubu, who monitored the election alongside observers from Yiaga Africa, noted the political stability inherent in Ghana’s democracy and the consistency of its political party structures and voter loyalty.
He cited the perseverance of the main opposition candidate, former Vice President Mahama, and the current President, Nana Akufo-Addo, who contended in multiple elections before achieving success.
Yakubu remarked, “Rarely in Ghana do you see people moving from one party to another in every general election. This stability is important; it provides supporters with a sense of continuity. There are people who have supported political parties for many years, so whether the party is in power or in opposition, they remain loyal.”
He also underscored that Ghana’s method of managing results at the constituency level, inspired by Nigeria, has improved the efficiency of the electoral process. In the past, all parliamentary and presidential results were sent to the Electoral Commission’s headquarters in Accra for announcement. However, Ghana has adopted a decentralized system that allows constituency officers to announce parliamentary results locally, while only presidential results are sent to Accra, as is practiced in Nigeria.
Yakubu explained, “The second lesson Ghana learned from Nigeria is in managing constituency election results. Until the last election, all results came to the Electoral Commission's headquarters in Accra. Although Ghana is not a federal system, they took a cue from Nigeria, where returning officers announce results for parliamentary elections in various constituencies. Only the presidential election results go to Accra.”
He added, “In Nigeria, this is what we have done, and they borrowed this approach from us, which they are now implementing for the second time. As you can see, the declaration of the presidential election result was much faster than it used to be in the past.”
Yakubu expressed his satisfaction with the overall electoral process, stating, “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.”
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