It is 4 days to Ghana’s December 7, 2024, general elections (presidential and parliamentary elections), which has been described as the most crucial election in the history of the country’s 4th Republic.

For the presidential election, 12 people — 11 men and one woman — will be vying to succeed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, as he ends his second term as president of Ghana on January 7, 2025.

However, the presidential race is turning out to be a two-horse race between the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), with some of the remaining 10 candidates predicted to sweep some of the votes of the two leading contenders in their strongholds.

All the polls on the election have predicted victories for the presidential candidate of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama, and that of the NPP, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia (the first Muslim leader of the party).

But what would the victory of either of the two men mean for the country? This article looks at the records that would be set in the event that Dr Bawumia emerges as the winner of the upcoming polls.

Aside from leading the NPP to win power for an unprecedented third term — ‘Break the 8 ’— Dr Bawumia would be setting a number of records for the presidency in Ghana's politics.

They include:

The first Muslim President of Ghana:

As pointed out earlier, Dr Bawumia is the first Muslim to lead the two political parties that have formed governments in the 4th Republic of Ghana.

Ghana has had five presidents since the inception of the 4th Republic: the late Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor, the late Prof John Evans Atta Mills, John Dramani Mahama, and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, all of whom are Christians.

If Dr Bawumia becomes the president of Ghana on January 7, 2025, he will become the first Muslim leader of Ghana in this current republic.

In fact, Dr Bawumia is likely to be the first Muslim leader of Ghana since the country’s independence on March 6, 1957, as the late Dr Hilla Limann, the country’s president between 1979 and 1981, was never known publicly to have ever professed his faith, although it is believed he was Muslim.

The First Vice President from the NPP to rise to the Presidency:

Dr Bawumia is the first vice president to become the presidential candidate of the NPP.

If he wins the 2024 presidential elections, he will become the first vice president produced by the NPP to become a substantive president in Ghana.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has had the likes of the late Prof Mills and Mahama rising from the vice president positions to becoming president, but no such person exists in the NPP's history.

Other Records that Would Be Broken:

The NPP flagbearer would not be the only person breaking records if he becomes president.

His wife, Second Lady Samira Bawumia, would also set some records, including:

The First Muslim First Lady Ghana has had in its 4th Republic:

Samira Bawumia would become the first Muslim First Lady Ghana has had in the 4th Republic if her husband wins the 2024 elections.

All the first ladies Ghana has had: Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings (the wife of the late JJ Rawlings); the late Theresa Kufuor (wife of J.A. Kufuor); Naadu Mills (the wife of the late Prof Mills); Lordina Mahama (the wife of John Mahama); and Rebecca Akufo-Addo (the wife of President Akufo-Addo), are all Christians.

The First First Lady of Northern Heritage:

Samira Bawumia would also be the first First Lady in the 4th Republic of Ghana who hails from the northern parts of Ghana.

All the first ladies Ghana has had, including the current one, are from the southern parts of the country.

Already, the vice president has broken several records by becoming the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), including:

The First Northerner to Lead the NPP:

The NPP, a party many scholars say was established in Asanteman, is for the first time being led by a northerner, with Dr Bawumia being its flagbearer.

The party, which draws its identity from the Danquah-Dombo-Busia Tradition, the oldest surviving political tradition in Ghana that dates as far back as 1947, has also been led by the Danquah and Busia heritage of the party, long before the election of the current vice president.

All flagbearers of the NPP since the inception of the 4th Republic of Ghana, have been Albert Adu Boahen (the pioneer flagbearer, 1992); John Agyekum Kufuor (1996, 2000, and 2004); and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020), and they have been from either the Danquah or Busia factions of the NPP tradition, which consist of political parties from the southern parts of Ghana that became part of the NPP tradition.

Dr Bawumia is the only Dombo, the part of the NPP tradition which stems from political parties from the northern parts of Ghana, to lead it.

The First Muslim to Lead Any of the 2 Dominant Political Parties of the 4th Republic:

Again, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is the only Muslim to become the flagbearer of the two parties that have formed governments in Ghana since 1992; the inception of the 4th Republic - the NPP and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

With Christianity being the dominant religious group in Ghana, which has over 70 percent of the country’s population and about 15 percent Muslim population, the two leading political parties have ‘conveniently’ mostly chosen Christians to lead them.

All the flagbearers the NPP has had before now: Albert Adu Boahen, John Agyekum Kufuor, and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, are all Christians.

The NDC has had the late Jerry John Rawlings (1992, 1996); the late Prof John Evans Atta Mills (2000, 2004, 2008); and John Dramani Mahama (2012, 2016, 2020, 2024)—all Christians, leading it as flagbearers.

BAI/AE

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