Ghana elections: close contest between Akufo Addo and John Mahama

Ghanaians are voting in an election widely seen to be a close contest between the incumbent Nana Akufo Addo and former President John Mahama. The polls end at 5 pm local time after which counting of ballots will start.

The Electoral Commission, which is supervising the entire polls, says it hopes to declare the results within 24 hours.

As SABC’s Nabil Ahmed Rufai reports from Accra, voting started as early as 7 am local time at many polling stations across Ghana. People had to wear facemasks and also have their temperatures taken before being allowed to vote.

It’s part of safety measures the Electoral Commission is enforcing to prevent a spread of COVID-19.

More than 17 million people registered to vote in this highly contested election between the incumbent, Nana Akufo Addo, and former President John Mahama.

Both rivals have been in power for one term. Voters will be comparing their records on how they handled the economy, their policies on Education and infrastructure development.

Election Observers from the European Union, African Union and ECOWAS are in Ghana monitoring the polls, which have generally been peaceful.

The Electoral Commission says it will announce the outcome 24 hours after results are collected from 16 regions across the country.

Ghana has had five presidents since 1992 and three handovers of power. It is considered one of the most democratic countries in West Africa.

Both Incumbent, Nana Akufo-Addo and former President John Mahama have voted in their home regions.

In some regions, some residents were not happy about the poor infrastructure developments. Roads were blocked and residents refused for ballot sheets to reach the polling stations unless constructions were completed. Security personnel were deployed to those areas and voting resumed.  -Reporting by Nabil Ahmed Rufai

Nana Akufo-Addo and John Mahama race for presidency: