Last Saturday, December 7, 2024, Ghana had its ninth general election in its Fourth Republic, which started with the 1992 Constitution. On Monday, December 9, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Mrs Jean Mensa, officially declared John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress as the president-elect. The presidential poll, held across the 40,976 polling stations contested by 12 of the 15 registered political parties and four independents with 18,774,159 registered voters resulted in a landslide victory for the former president, Mahama. According to the EC chairperson who was the returning officer, Jean Mensa, Ex-president John Mahama polled 6,328,397 representing 56.55 per cent, while the Vice President and presidential candidate of the governing New Patriotic Party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, secured 4, 657, 304, representing 41.61 per cent, representing. Voter turnout was officially put at 60.9 per cent. A turnout “Big Brother” Nigeria still dream of.

It is noteworthy that the NPP candidate and the outgoing Vice President of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, had on Sunday, December 8, showed statesmanship by calling his main rival, John Mahama, to concede victory and congratulate him. That singular action was taken ahead of the conclusion of the vote tallying deescalated tension in the country. It is quite exemplary! Mahama, Ghana’s president between 2012 and 2016 like Donald Trump had successfully staged a comeback to the Jubilee House after a series of losses to the outgoing President Nana Akufo Addo in 2016 and 2020. Another epochal thing with the just concluded election is that Ghana has made history by producing its first female Vice President-Elect, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang. She was the former vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Coast and later in 2013 appointed Minister of Education by John Mahama.

It is noteworthy that no political party has been able to win more than two elections back-to-back in Ghana since 1992. The electoral upset which led to the massive defeat of the ruling New Patriotic Party follows the political trajectory in Liberia in November 2023, Senegal in March 2024, the UK in July 2024, and the US in November 2024.  In these countries, opposition political parties were able to roundly defeat the party in power, thereby, causing political upset. The causative factors in all of these are the rising cost of living, inflation, and unemployment.

Though Ghana has long established itself as an oasis of democracy in what is regarded as the coup belt of Africa; last Saturday’s elections are not without flaws. According to the appraisal of the elections done by a Ghanaian newspaper, Myjoyonline, “The exercise, which started peacefully on Saturday morning, later escalated into chaos in some parts of the country due to issues of attempted rigging, and delays in the collation of results in some constituencies. The post-election violence has claimed three lives, with many others injured. The Ghana Police Service has so far arrested 89 people for various election-related offences.” There were also reported cases of vote buying on the internet.

I was on the Nigerian Television Authority flagship breakfast show called ‘Good Morning Nigeria” last Monday, December 9. I was an accredited observer under the platform of The Carter Centre in 2008 and I am of the view that Nigeria could learn a few things from its West Africa Anglophone neighbour.  Ghana, a country of over 34 million people with 16 administrative regions and 276 electoral constituencies shares a common history with Nigeria. Apart from being a former British colony, the country also had its fair share of military rule. Under Section 44 (2) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, the chairperson of the electoral commission is appointed on similar conditions as a Justice of the Court of Appeal.

Among the similarities between Nigeria and Ghana is: They are both in their Fourth Republic, running multiparty democracy. Despite having a de jure multiparty system, they are both de facto two-party countries. While the two dominant political parties in Nigeria are the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party, in Ghana, the dominant political parties are the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress.  Both countries are members of the Economic Community of West African States and long-time trade partners; both countries run a presidential system of government of four-year tenure and a maximum of two terms for executive positions. Both nations now sign peace accords ahead of presidential elections. The voting age in Ghana is 18 just like in Nigeria.

In Ghana, just like in Nigeria, there is no grant given to political parties. They source their money internally without limit while foreign donation is barred. According to Section 55 (15) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, only a citizen of Ghana can contribute or donate to a political party registered in Ghana.  What, however, is doubtful is whether there is strict enforcement of this clause. Party members in Ghana buy party souvenirs. I saw many of them with their party flags, mufflers, handkerchiefs, T-shirts, etc. The parties in turn provide free transport service to party members who may wish to travel to where they registered to vote.

Unlike in Nigeria, however, Ghana has provision for independent candidacy; voting hours are from 7 am–5 pm and there is no lockdown of the country as with the case in Nigeria.  Election day in Ghana is December 7 of the election year and the swearing-in date for the new president is January 7 of the new year. This is very much like the US, where the election is the first Tuesday in November of the election year and the inauguration is on January 20 of the following year. To win the presidential election in Ghana, a candidate needs to win 50+1 per cent of the valid votes cast. That means the absolute majority of the votes cast. To be eligible to run in the presidential election, candidates must be Ghanaian, 40 years or older, and registered voters. Candidates for parliamentary seats must be Ghanaians of 21 years or older and registered voters.  Candidates for the elections must not owe allegiance to any other country and must have settled all tax obligations.

Under the Ghana electoral system, there is a provision for voting by proxy and special or early voting. While voting by proxy allows a person to vote on behalf of another person, special voting is meant for electoral officials, media practitioners and members of armed forces, who are likely to be on election duty. Early voting takes place on December 2. In the just concluded elections, 1,291 voters cast their votes by proxy, allowing someone else to vote on their behalf. Ghana’s electoral system recognises voting by proxy for voters who are sick, outside the country, or unable to participate on election day. However, a proxy voter can only vote for one person.

Unlike Nigeria, which runs a bicameral legislature, Ghana has a unicameral legislature. Unlike Nigeria, which has two electoral management bodies, i.e. INEC and state independent electoral commissions, Ghana has only one, which is the Electoral Commission of Ghana, currently headed by a lady, Mrs Jean Mensa. Ghana’s electoral commission has seven members- a chairman, two deputy chairmen and four other members. Nigeria, on the other hand, has a 14-member commission- a chairman, 12 national commissioners and the secretary.

Truth be told, Ghana has better political credentials than Nigeria and we can learn and borrow some useful ideas from our dear neighbour. Things like the civic political culture, provision for early voting, independent candidacy, robust political party management system and a constitutionally backed date for elections, the election of more women into executive and legislative positions, reduction of qualification age to run for state houses of assembly and councillorship positions from 25 to 21, and more issue-based campaigns are some of the useful lessons we can learn from the land of the Black Stars.
As the tenure of Prof Mahmood Yakubu as INEC chairman ends next year, President Bola Tinubu should scout for a virtuous woman to replace him. Ahead of the 2027 presidential poll, APC and PDP should think about having female vice presidential candidates.

X: @jideojong