Ghanaians began voting on Wednesday in presidential election which analysts said will be a tight race between President John Dramani Mahama and leader of Ghana’s largest opposition party, Nana Akufo Addo.
The neck and neck presidential and parliamentary polls is held at a time President Mahama is being criticised for economic woes and corruption scandals said to have eroded his administration.
Over 15 million Ghanaians are expected to vote for a new president and 275 parliamentarians, and incumbent President John Mahama is seeking reelection for a second term after winning the last elections in 2012.
Mahama’s main rival is Nana Akufo-Addo, leader of New Patriotic Party (NPP), a veteran politician and former foreign minister.
The winner of Wednesday’s election will serve a four-year term in a country the opposition said is formerly to be formerly booming but has seen its economy sputter, currency deteriorated and inflation soared.
The campaign has been dominated by the faltering state of Ghana’s economy and the issue of corruption.
The results are though expected within three days, but a run-off will be held later in the month if neither of the two main candidates secures more than 50% of the votes.
Image caption: Security was tight in Tamale, northern Ghana, as voting began.
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The candidates signed a pact last week vowing to follow electoral rules and keep the peace.
But clashes broke out on Monday in Chereponi, a small northern town on the border with Togo. In addition to the reported death, six people are said to be in a critical condition as a result.
Defeat for Mr Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would make him the only single-term president since Ghana returned to multi-party democracy.However he has been nicknamed “Mr Dumsor”, a local word that refers to the power cuts that have blighted the country during his term.
Mr Akufo-Addo meanwhile has promised free high-school education and more factories, but his critics have questioned the viability of his ambitions.
Tight race predicted:
NDC candidate: John Dramani Mahama, 57
- Vice-president under President John Atta Mills, who died in 2012. Completed his term
- Now seeking re-election after serving his first term of four years
- Political pedigree: His father was first minister of state for the Northern region
NPP candidate: Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, 72
- Campaigned for a return to multi-party democracy under military rule
- A former justice and foreign minister in the NPP government from 2001 to 2007, he is running for president for a third time
- Political pedigree: His father was a prominent politician who served as chief justice and ceremonial president
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