Ghanaian general election, 2016

Ghanaian presidential election, 2016
7 December 2016
Opinion polls

 
Nominee Nana Akufo-Addo John Mahama
Party NPP NDC
Popular vote 5,716,026 4,713,277
Percentage 53.9% 44.4%
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
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.

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 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.

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.

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

Party Presidential Candidate Running 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 source Date Sample size Undecided Mahama
NDC		 Akufo-Addo
NPP		 Nduom
PPP		 Greenstreet
CPP		 Other candidates Notes
Restart International 5 December 2016 2,000 54.7% 43.7%
Ben Ephson 28 November 2016 N/A 52.4% 45.9% 1.7% 2% margin of error
Ben Ephson October 2016 N/A 50.8% 47.5% 1.7% 2% margin of error
Goodman AMC August 2016 2,184 N/A 48% 45% 7% 0% 2.1% margin of error
Goodman AMC June 2016 1,644 N/A 44% 49% 6% 1% 2.3% margin of error
Goodman AMC April 2016 1,216 N/A 32% 65% 3% 0%

Preliminary results

Constituencies won by
■ – Nana Akufo-Addo
■ – John Dramani Mahama

President

Candidate Party Votes %
Nana Akufo-AddoNew Patriotic Party5,716,02653.85
John Dramani MahamaNational Democratic Congress4,713,27744.40
Paa Kwesi NduomProgressive People's Party105,6821.00
Ivor GreenstreetConvention People's Party25,3950.24
Edward MahamaPeople's National Convention22,2140.21
Nana Konadu Agyeman RawlingsNational Democratic Party16,8780.16
Jacob Osei YeboahIndependent15,8890.15
Invalid/blank votes166,248–
Total10,781,917100
Registered voters/turnout15,712,49968.62
Source: Electoral Commission Ghana

By region

Region
Nana Akufo-Addo
NPP		 John Dramani Mahama
NDC
Votes % Votes %
Ashanti 1,647,220 76.27 497,242 23.02
Brong-Ahafo 510,501 54.07 421,451 44.64
Central 495,583 53.21 404,648 43.44
Eastern 647,334 63.92 355,163 35.07
Greater Accra 1,006,458 51.79 918,476 47.27
Northern 398,384 42.25 521,850 55.35
Upper East 157,607 34.17 273,193 59.22
Upper West 96,762 36.64 153,338 58.06
Volta 104,365 15.79 545,309 82.53
Western 530,146 52.37 459,446 45.38
Source: Peace FM

Parliament

Party Votes % Seats +/–
New Patriotic Party5,663,78652.50171+48
National Democratic Congress4,567,42942.34104–44
Progressive People's Party187,0781.730
Convention People's Party72,6770.670–1
People's National Convention42,4050.390–1
National Democratic Party10,0670.090
All People's Congress2,3520.020
United Front Party8960.010
Democratic People's Party8670.010
Great Consolidated Popular Party8310.010
United Progressive Party4300.000
Independents238,7902.210–3
Invalid/blank votes–––
Total10,787,6081002750
Registered voters/turnout15,712,499––
Source: Peace FM

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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