Ghana’s Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia has conceded defeat in Saturday’s elections, congratulating opposition leader and former President John Mahama on his victory. Early results suggest this could be one of the heaviest defeats in decades for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which had been in power since 2016.
Voters were angered by a combination of the rising cost of living, a series of high-profile scandals and a major debt crisis that prevented the government from delivering on key promises. As a result, the NPP may have dropped below 45% of the presidential vote for the first time since 1996.
Ghana’s vote brings to an end a remarkable 12 months in African politics, which have seen five transfers of power - more than ever before. This “annus horribilis” for governments has now also brought opposition victories in Botswana, Mauritius, Senegal and the self-declared republic of Somaliland.
Even beyond these results, almost every election held in the region this year under reasonably democratic conditions has seen the governing party lose a significant number of seats.
This trend has been driven by a combination of factors:
the economic downturn
growing public intolerance of corruption
and the emergence of increasingly assertive and well-coordinated opposition parties.
The trend is likely to continue into 2025, and will cause trouble for leaders such as Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera, whose country goes to the polls in September.
One of the most striking aspects of the elections that have taken place in 2024 is that many have resulted in landslide defeats for governments that have previously appeared to have a strong grip on power - including in countries that have never before experienced a change at the top.