Ghana’s newly elected President John Mahama was sworn in today in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, succeeding Nana Akufo-Addo, who is stepping down after two terms in office, and described his return to power as a “historic event”.
“My re-election is a historic event that is worth repeating,” declared the new President, aged 66, at his inauguration before a large crowd gathered in Independence Square wearing the green, red, black and white colors of his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Elected in December with 56.6% of the vote, John Mahama, who had previously been President of the country between 2012 and 2017, marks the return to power of the NDC after eight years of rule by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
His Vice-President, Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the first woman to hold this position in Ghana, was also sworn in.
Around 20 African heads of state were present at the inauguration, including Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Nigeria), Bassirou Diomaye Faye (Senegal), Ibrahim Traoré (Burkina Faso), William Ruto (Kenya), Félix Tshisekedi (Democratic Republic of Congo), Brice Oligui Nguema (Gabon), Julius Maada Bio (Sierra Leone), Mamadi Doumbouya (Guinea-Conakry), as well as several former presidents and heads of government.
Africa’s leading gold producer and the world’s second largest cocoa exporter, Ghana has for many years been a model of stable democracy, with the main political parties, the NPP and the NDC, having held the presidency in succession since the country’s return to a multi-party system in 1992.
The election campaign was dominated by the economic concerns of the country’s 34 million people, who face a high cost of living.
Ghana is beginning to emerge from its worst economic crisis in years, with inflation expected to reach 50% by the end of 2022, forcing the authorities to seek a $3 billion (€2.88 billion) loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Although inflation has fallen to around 23% and other macroeconomic indicators have stabilised, the economic hardship remained a key election issue for many.
“Today we have the opportunity to reconfigure our country,” added the president, dressed in a traditional northern costume called a ‘fugu’.
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