The Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, is set to form the next government of Ghana after winning the 2024 presidential election.

Although the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) is yet to confirm Mahama’s victory, his main contender, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who is the candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has conceded defeat, describing the former president's victory as "decisive."

The international media has already reported on Mahama’s victory, despite it not being confirmed by EC.

Here is how some media giants reported Mahama’s victory:

CNN:

Former Ghana leader pulls off historic comeback after crucial presidential election:

Ghana’s Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has conceded defeat a day after a tense presidential election, marking a historic political comeback for the opposition candidate, former leader John Mahama.

Bawumia said in his concession speech on Sunday morning that internally collated results showed that “Mahama has won the presidential election decisively,” ahead of a formal announcement by the electoral commission.

Bawumia said the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) party had also won the parliamentary election. He said he conceded “to avoid further tension and preserve the peace of our country.”

“I have since called H.E John Dramani Mahama to congratulate him as President-elect of the Republic of Ghana,” Bawumia said, adding that “the people have voted for change at this time, and we respect that decision with all humility.”

Opinion polls had predicted a first-round victory for Mahama amid widespread discontent over the country’s economy and a crisis over illegal gold mining.

Ghanaians have been railing against environmental degradation caused by unlicensed small-scale mining, a longstanding issue that has left large swathes of land pockmarked by pits and major rivers polluted.

Ghana is also grappling with its worst economic situation in decades as it reels from high inflation, youth unemployment, and a steep increase in the cost of living.

Bawumia, 61, a UK-trained economist who chaired the nation’s economic management team, faced criticism ahead of the elections over his handling of the struggling economy. On the campaign trail, Mahama also criticized him for saying little about the economy.

Mahama, 66, described the election as a “defining moment” for Ghana and vowed to “reset” the nation on a path “for good governance and accountability.”

He said Sunday he had received a “congratulatory call” from Bawumia, following his “emphatic victory.”

BBC:

Opposition wins Ghana presidential election, vice-president says:

Ghana's Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia has accepted defeat in Saturday's election and congratulated the opposition candidate, former President John Mahama, on his victory.

"The people have voted for change," said Bawumia.

The elections come amid the country's worst economic crisis in a generation, which saw the cost of basic goods shoot up, while young people struggled to get jobs and the country was unable to repay its debts.

Despite Bawumia's concession, no official results have been declared.

The Electoral Commission (EC) said results had been delayed because supporters of the two main parties were impeding the process and it had asked the police to clear the collation centres.

Mahama's supporters have taken to the streets around the country to celebrate, cheering, waving flags, blowing horns and spinning motorbikes.

"I'm so excited for this victory," Salifu Abdul-Fatawu told the BBC in the central city of Kumasi.

He said he hoped it would mean that he and his sibling would get jobs, while the price of food and fuel would come down.

Even NPP supporter Nana accepted that "my party is NPP, but whatever they did was not good.

"The system was so bad in an election year and so most people were not happy."

Who is John Mahama?
Ghana becomes record fifth African country to see opposition victory this year
Although the election has generally been peaceful, two people were shot dead on Saturday in separate incidents, while the electoral commission office in the northern town of Damongo has been destroyed, allegedly by NDC supporters angry at the delays in announcing the results.

Ghanaians had expected the first results to be announced within hours of the polls closing, however the head of the Electoral Commission has asked for patience, noting that it has 72 hours to declare the results.

Warehouses have also been looted in both Damongo, and Tamale, also in the north.

Bawumia said he was basing his concession on internal tallies from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

He said these showed Mahama had won "decisively", while the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had also won the parliamentary election.

Mahama confirmed that Bawumia had called to congratulate him on his "emphatic victory".

The NDC earlier said that its internal results showed Mahama had won 56% of the vote against 41% for Bawumia.

The vice-president said he was accepting defeat before the official announcement of the results "to avoid further tension and preserve the peace of our country".

The US embassy in the capital, Accra, has congratulated Ghana on "a successful election".

President Nana Akufo-Addo is stepping down after reaching the official limit of two terms in office.

Mahama, 65, previously led Ghana from 2012 until 2017, when he was replaced by Akufo-Addo. Mahama also lost the 2020 election so this victory represents a stunning comeback.

Since the return of multi-party politics to Ghana in 1992, the NDC and the NPP have alternated in power.

No party has ever won more than two consecutive terms in power - a trend that looks set to continue.

Mahama's previous time in office was marred by an ailing economy, frequent power-cuts and corruption scandals.

However, Ghanaians hope it will be different this time round.

During the campaign, Mahama promised to transform Ghana into a "24-hour economy".

In Tamale, NDC supporter Gajia One told the BBC: "We handed over to them [NPP] and thought they could manage the country well, but they have failed, and we take over again."

"John Mahama is the right man to rule this country. We are fed up."

The new president will be sworn in on 7 January 2025.

Al Jazeera:

Ghana’s former President John Mahama wins election:

Ghana’s former President John Dramani Mahama has won the country’s presidential election after his main opponent, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat.

“The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time and we respect it with all humility,” Bawumia said in a news conference on Sunday.

The defeat in Saturday’s election ends two terms in power for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President Nana Akufo-Addo, marked by Ghana’s worst economic crisis in years, involving high inflation and a debt default.

Bawumia said he called Mahama, of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to congratulate him.

Earlier, NDC spokesman Sammy Gyamfi told reporters the party’s internal review of results showed Mahama won 56.3 percent of the vote against 41.3 percent for Bawumia.

“It is very clear the people of this country have voted for change,” Gyamfi said.

The vice president said Mahama won the presidency “decisively”.

BAI/AE