Ghana’s opposition leader Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is looking “forward to a healthy, incident-free, democratic, free, fair and credible contest” with President John Mahama in the 2016 elections.

The two protagonists of Ghana’s politics will be facing off for the second time after the 2012 presidential polls which saw Mahama ascending the thrown for the first time.

Mahama is seeking a second bid, having served as vice president under the late John Evans Atta Mills while Akufo-Addo is going for his third shot.

The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) endorsed Mahama with an overwhelming 95% votes after a presidential primaries over the weekend.

Akufo-Addo in a congratulatory message said: “Electing representatives of the people in a Republic such as ours is key to deepening our democratic values. In that regard, I commend the members, officers and the executives of the NDC for organising and participating in this essential democratic exercise to elect their presidential candidate as well as parliamentary candidates for the various constituencies across the country.”

“I hope lessons from last weekend will help all of us to appreciate the need to strengthen our electoral process and enhance the quality of our democracy,” Nana Addo added.