Ghana’s former president,\u00a0John Dramani Mahama, is set to return to the country’s top job after the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate\u00a0Mahamudu Bawumia\u00a0conceded defeat on Sunday following Saturday’s election.<\/p>\n
Bawumia’s loss brings to an end eight years in power for the NPP under President Nana Akufo-Addo, who stepped down after serving his two legally allowed terms, the second of which was marked by\u00a0the country’s worst financial crisis in decades.<\/p>\n Ahead of the official announcement from the\u00a0Electoral Commission of Ghana, expected on Tuesday, Bawumia told a press conference that Mahama had “won the presidential election decisively,” adding that the people of Ghanahad\u00a0“voted for change at this time, and we respect it with all humility.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Mahama, from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC),\u00a0served as president between July 2012 and January 2017. He had twice failed\u00a0to reclaim the presidency\u00a0in Ghana’s 2016 and 2020 elections.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n He has yet to speak publicly, but\u00a0on his X account, he confirmed that he had received a congratulatory call from Bawumia following his “emphatic victory.”<\/p>\n In northern Ghana, where the newly elected president is from, local residents said they hoped that he would bring peace to the region, which is\u00a0often threatened by jihadist groups in the Sahel,\u00a0and much-needed development.<\/p>\n “We will benefit, and the north will now be respected because of his election. We are proud of him and believe he will bring down the cost of living,” Memunatu Mutawakil, a local trader in Tamale, told DW.<\/p>\n Alhassan Ziblim, a political analyst also based in northern Ghana, told DW that Mahama\u00a0would address regional security challenges because of his well-regarded mediation skills and international standing.<\/p>\n “President Mahama, as ECOWAS chair, mediated a lot of conflicts in the sub-region, and with this experience, I believe he will have a critical role to play in bringing the sub-region together and mediating Ghana’s internal conflicts.”<\/p>\n However, Ziblim warned that the development of the region\u00a0would depend on Mahama’s appointments to key positions under his administration.<\/p>\n “Policy is blind to identity. Any good policy will benefit anybody anywhere, regardless of where you come from. So if Mahama implements the right policies, it doesn’t matter whether he is a northerner or not, northern Ghana will develop.”<\/p>\n\n
Hopes for northern development<\/h2>\n