Ghanaian general election, 2016

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Ghanaian presidential election, 2016
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Opinion polls

  Nana Akufo-Addo at European Development Days 2017.jpg John Dramani Mahama 2014 (cropped).jpg
Nominee Nana Akufo-Addo John Mahama
Party NPP NDC
Popular vote 5,716,026 4,713,277
Percentage 53.9% 44.4%

Ghana 2016 Election Regional Results Map.svg

Presidential election results map. Green denotes provinces won by Mahama, and Blue denotes those won by Akufo-Addo.
President before election

John Dramani Mahama
NDC

President-elect

Nana Akufo-Addo
NPP

Ghana
Coat of arms of Ghana.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Ghana
Constitution

General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2016 to elect a President and Members of Parliament. [1] They had originally been scheduled for 7 November 2016, [2] but the date was later rejected by Parliament. [1] Former foreign minister Nana Akufo-Addo of the opposition New Patriotic Party was elected President on his third attempt, defeating incumbent President John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress.

Ghana Republic in West Africa

Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, in the subregion of West Africa. Spanning a land mass of 238,535 km2 (92,099 sq mi), Ghana is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo in the east and the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean in the south. Ghana means "Warrior King" in the Soninke language.

President of Ghana head of state and head of government of Ghana

The President of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current President of Ghana is Nana Akufo-Addo, who won the 2016 presidential election against the incumbent, John Dramani Mahama, by a margin of 9.45%. Nana Akufo-Addo was sworn into office on 7 January 2017.

Parliament of Ghana

The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Government of Ghana.

Contents

The election results were announced on 9 December 2016 due to a delay of voting in two areas. At 19:51 local time, Mahama called Akufo-Addo to concede defeat. At 20:45, the Electoral Commission declared that Akufo-Addo had defeated Mahama in a single round, the first time that a sitting president of Ghana had failed to win a second term.

Electoral Commission of Ghana

The Electoral Commission of Ghana is the official body in Ghana responsible for all public elections. Made up of seven members, its independence is guaranteed by the 1992 Ghana constitution. The current commission was established by the Electoral Commission Act of 1993. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan was the first substantive Chairman of the Commission from 1993-2015. In December 5,2018 the Electoral commission chaired by Jean Adukwei Mensah reverted to the old logo Eagles with coat of arms after the controversy over the new logo

Electoral system

The president is elected using the two-round system, whilst the 275 members of Parliament are elected in single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting.

Two-round system voting system used to elect a single winner where a second round of voting is used if no candidate wins an absolute majority in the first round

The two-round system is a voting method used to elect a single winner, where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate. However, if no candidate receives the required number of votes, then those candidates having less than a certain proportion of the votes, or all but the two candidates receiving the most votes, are eliminated, and a second round of voting is held.

First-past-the-post voting voting system in which voters select one candidate, and the candidate who receives more votes than any other candidate wins

A first-past-the-post electoral system is one in which voters indicate on a ballot the candidate of their choice, and the candidate who receives the most votes wins. This is sometimes described as winner takes all. First-past-the-post voting is a plurality voting method. FPTP is a common, but not universal, feature of electoral systems with single-member electoral divisions, and is practiced in close to one third of countries. Notable examples include Canada, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as most of their current or former colonies and protectorates.

Eligible voters must be Ghanaian citizens who are at least 18 years old, although those declared insane are disenfranchised. Parliamentary candidates must be Ghanaian citizens at least 21 years old, and either be resident in their constituency or have lived there for at least five of the ten years prior to the election. [3]

Candidates

Presidential candidates

Over 16 people filed with the election commission to run for president. However, 13 presidential candidates were disqualified due to incorrect filing procedures. The disqualified candidates included former first lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, the president of the National Democratic Party. [4] There was some controversy due to allegations that the candidates were disqualified for political reasons. The Electoral Commission denied all accusations. After the disqualification, only four presidential candidates remained. However, the presidential candidate of the Progressive People's Party (PPP) Paa Kwesi Nduom took the EC to court over his disqualification. The court finally ruled in his favour, allowing him to join the race. [5] Two other candidates who were disqualified also followed suit, leading to there being seven candidates.

Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings First Lady of Ghana

Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings was the First Lady of Ghana from 4 June 1979 to 24 September 1979 and 31 December 1981 to 7 January 2001, both times under President Jerry John Rawlings. In 2016 she became the first woman to run for President of Ghana.

National Democratic Party (Ghana) Ghanaian political party

The National Democratic Party (NDP) is a Ghanaian political party, founded in October 2012 as a split from the ruling National Democratic Congress. Its first leader was former NDC politician Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, who is also the wife of former President of Ghana and NDC founder Jerry Rawlings.

Paa Kwesi Nduom or Papa Kwesi Nduom, is a business consultant and politician. He is the Progressive People's Party's aspiring candidate for president. In 2008, he was the Convention People's Party's nominee to contest the Ghanaian presidential election in December 2008. He was the member of parliament for the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem constituency and had served as minister of state in various portfolios in the Kufuor's government between 2001 and 2007. He was named after his father as Joseph Hubster Yorke Jr.

Ivor Greenstreet from the Convention People's Party was the first physically challenged candidate to contest a presidential election. [6]

Ivor Greenstreet Ghanaian politician and lawyer

Ivor Kobina Greenstreet is a politician and 2016 Ghanaian general election flagbearer for the Convention Peoples' Party (CPP). He is a lawyer by profession.

Convention Peoples Party political party

The Convention People's Party is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah.

PartyPresidential CandidateRunning Mate
National Democratic Congress John Dramani Mahama Kwesi Amissah-Arthur [7]
Convention People's Party Ivor Greenstreet Gabby Nsiah Nketiah [8]
New Patriotic Party Nana Akufo-Addo [9] Mahamudu Bawumia [7]
Progressive People's Party Paa Kwesi Nduom Brigitte Dzogbenuku [10]
People's National Convention Edward Mahama Emmanuel Anyidoho [11]
National Democratic Party Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings Kojo Mensah Sosu [12]
Independent Candidate Jacob Osei Yeboah Daniel Wilson Torto [13]

Parliament

A total of 1,144 candidates contested the 275 seats in Parliament. The NDC and NPP both ran full slates of 275 candidates, whilst the CPP (222 candidates) and PPP (163) were the only two other parties to run in over half the seats. The PNC nominated 64 candidates, the NDP 33, the APC 20, the GCPP 10, the UFP six and the DPP and UPP both had only one candidate. The other 74 candidates were independents. [14]

Opinion polls

President

Poll sourceDate Sample sizeUndecided Mahama
NDC		 Akufo-Addo
NPP		 Nduom
PPP		 Greenstreet
CPP		Other candidatesNotes
Restart International 5 December 20162,00054.7%43.7%
Ben Ephson 28 November 2016N/A52.4%45.9%1.7%2% margin of error
Ben Ephson October 2016N/A50.8%47.5%1.7%2% margin of error
Goodman AMC August 20162,184N/A48%45%7%0%2.1% margin of error
Goodman AMC June 20161,644N/A44%49%6%1%2.3% margin of error
Goodman AMC April 20161,216N/A32%65%3%0%

Preliminary results

Constituencies won by # - Nana Akufo-Addo # - John Dramani Mahama Ghanaian Presidential Election, 2016 - Result by Constituencies.png
Constituencies won by
■ – Nana Akufo-Addo
■ – John Dramani Mahama

President

CandidatePartyVotes%
Nana Akufo-Addo New Patriotic Party 5,716,02653.85
John Dramani Mahama National Democratic Congress 4,713,27744.40
Paa Kwesi Nduom Progressive People's Party 105,6821.00
Ivor Greenstreet Convention People's Party 25,3950.24
Edward Mahama People's National Convention 22,2140.21
Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings National Democratic Party 16,8780.16
Jacob Osei Yeboah Independent15,8890.15
Invalid/blank votes166,248–
Total10,781,917100
Registered voters/turnout15,712,49968.62
Source: Electoral Commission Ghana

By region

Region Nana Akufo-Addo at European Development Days 2017.jpg John Dramani Mahama 2014 (cropped).jpg
Nana Akufo-Addo
NPP		 John Dramani Mahama
NDC
Votes%Votes%
Ashanti 1,647,22076.27497,24223.02
Brong-Ahafo 510,50154.07 421,451 44.64
Central 495,58353.21 404,648 43.44
Eastern 647,33463.92 355,163 35.07
Greater Accra 1,006,45851.79 918,476 47.27
Northern 398,38442.25521,85055.35
Upper East 157,607 34.17273,19359.22
Upper West 96,762 36.64153,33858.06
Volta 104,365 15.79545,30982.53
Western 530,14652.37 459,446 45.38
Source: Peace FM

Parliament

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
New Patriotic Party 5,663,78652.50171+48
National Democratic Congress 4,567,42942.34104–44
Progressive People's Party 187,0781.730
Convention People's Party 72,6770.670–1
People's National Convention 42,4050.390–1
National Democratic Party 10,0670.090
All People's Congress2,3520.020
United Front Party 8960.010
Democratic People's Party 8670.010
Great Consolidated Popular Party 8310.010
United Progressive Party4300.000
Independents238,7902.210–3
Invalid/blank votes–––
Total10,787,6081002750
Registered voters/turnout15,712,499––
Source: Peace FM

Related Research Articles

New Patriotic Party political party in Ghana

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is a centre-right and liberal conservative party in Ghana. Since the democratization of Ghana in 1992, it has been one of the two dominant parties in Ghana politics; its leading rival being the centre-left National Democratic Congress (NDC). John Kufuor of the NPP was President of Ghana from 2001 to 2009. At the elections held on 7 December 2004, the party won 129 out of 230 seats. The NPP candidate was Kufuor, who was re-elected as President with 52.75% of the vote. The New Patriotic Party symbol is the African elephant and the New Patriotic Party colors are red, white, and blue.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Parliament rejects November 7 Election date". Ghana News Agency. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  2. ↑ Parliament approves GHC826m for 2016 elections Ghana Web, 21 December 2015
  3. ↑ Electoral system IPU
  4. ↑ Clottey, Peter. "Ghana Electoral Body Denies Candidates' Disqualifications Politically Motivated". VOA. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  5. ↑ Nduom back in the race; floors EC in court Citi FM, 28 October 2016
  6. ↑ "Who is Ivor Greenstreet?". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  7. 1 2 Bilie Adwoa McTernan. "Ghana's NPP prepares for the 2016 presidential race - West Africa" . Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "CPP chooses Gabby Nketia as running mate". www.citifmonline.com. citifmonline.com. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Ghana: Akuffo Addo to contest 2016 Presidential Election - TVC NEWS" . Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  10. ↑ Myjoyonline.com (4 August 2016). "Nduom picks former Miss Ghana as running mate".
  11. ↑ "PNC settles on Havard-trained economist as running mate". www.citifmonline.com. citifmonline.com. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  12. ↑ "NDP unveils Kojo Mensah Sosu as running mate". www.ghanaweb.com. Ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "JOY selects Wilson Torto as running mate". www.ghanaweb.com. ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  14. ↑ Parliament: Election 2016 Peace FM
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