[News Figures] Ghana, Regime Change After 8 Years... Former President Mahama Wins Presidential Election

In the presidential election of Ghana, West Africa, which is suffering from economic difficulties, a change of government occurred for the first time in eight years as the opposition candidate was elected president.

John Dramani Mahama (66), the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate and former president who served as president in 2012, has returned to the presidency. This is his success after three attempts following his failure to be re-elected in 2016. Since the return to constitutional rule in 1992, this is the first time in Ghana's history that a president who failed to be re-elected has returned to the presidency through an election. Although the official results of the presidential election held together with the general election the previous day have not yet been announced, Vice President Bawumia conceded defeat.

Former President Mahama posted on X (formerly Twitter), "I received a congratulatory call from Vice President Bawumia," and expressed his gratitude to the people of Ghana.

In this presidential election, former President Mahama gained votes fueled by anger over Ghana's economic difficulties, including soaring inflation and a sovereign debt default that led to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout. Ghana is Africa's largest gold producer and the world's second-largest cocoa exporter, but it has been pushed into a foreign exchange crisis due to a severe economic crisis and received bailout support from the IMF. Former President Mahama pledged to renegotiate parts of the bailout agreement with the IMF and to create jobs to resolve the economic crisis.

Mahama, a member of the Gonja ethnic group, hails from Bole in the northern region. His father, Emmanuel Adama Mahama, was the first member of parliament for the West Gonja constituency and the first regional executive of the Northern Region during the First Republic under Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah. Mahama began his primary education at Accra Newtown Experimental School (ANT1), completed his studies at Achimota School, and graduated from Ghana Secondary School. He earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1981 and a graduate diploma in communications in 1986 before entering the University of Ghana in Legon.

Former President Mahama served as a member of parliament for Bole Bamboi from 1997 to 2009 and as Minister of Communications from 1998 to 2001. He is affiliated with the National Democratic Congress. Mahama was the first vice president to succeed to the presidency upon the death of the sitting president. He served as Ghana's president from 2012 to 2016. After failing to win re-election in 2016 against current President Nana Akufo-Addo, he succeeded in his third attempt this time.