Ghanaians flocked to polling stations on Saturday to elect a new president and a 276-seat parliament, in what the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) described as a peaceful and orderly exercise.
Namadi Sambo, Nigeria’s former vice president and leader of the 120-member ECOWAS Election Observation Mission, commended the electoral process after visiting several polling stations in the Greater Accra region, home to over three million of the country’s 18.8 million registered voters.
“The process has been peaceful and orderly so far,” Sambo said.
Polling stations officially opened at 7 a.m., with the first voter, 55-year-old Patience Yinne, completing her voting in under five minutes. At the Flag Staff HSEJHs station in Ayawaso East Constituency, 96-year-old Charles Owusu joined the queue at 6 a.m., eager to cast his ballot.
Observers reported similar voter enthusiasm across the country, with long queues forming well before polls opened.
Smooth Operations Despite Minor Delays
At several stations, such as the 37 Military Hospital Officers Mess in Ayawaso East, voting began promptly, though one of its four polling stations started at 7:20 a.m. due to minor delays. Polling materials and staff were in place across all visited locations, with security personnel ensuring a calm environment.
In the Osu, Korle Klottey Constituency, 20 voters had already cast their ballots at one station out of 671 registered voters by 7:50 a.m., when Sambo’s delegation arrived.
Voting officially ends at 5 p.m., after which ballots will be sorted and counted at polling stations before results are collated at district, regional, and national levels.
Key Contestants in Presidential Race
The presidential election is a two-horse race between Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and former President John Mahama, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer.
Outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP is ineligible to contest after serving two terms. A candidate must secure 50% plus one vote to avoid a run-off, which, if necessary, will take place 21 days after the first round of voting.
Ghana’s constitution mandates that the president-elect be sworn in on January 7 of the electoral cycle.
Parliamentary Stakes
More than 800 candidates are competing for parliamentary seats, with only the NPP and NDC fielding representatives in all constituencies visited by ECOWAS observers.
ECOWAS deployed its observers across Ghana’s 16 regions to monitor the elections, emphasizing their role in fostering democratic governance in West Africa.
Ghana, regarded as one of Africa’s most stable democracies, has held uninterrupted elections under its Fourth Republic since 1992.
