Ghana: Economy’s Top Determinant As Ghanaians Elect New President

As Ghanaians head to the polls to elect the head of the Cocoa-rich West African country on Saturday, the state of the economy rings across as the core determinant of who emerges as president.

When Theophilus Ntow, 25, resumed his waiting job at a restaurant in 2021, 20 Ghanaian cedis (about $4 at the time) could cover the day’s transportation. Today, the same amount has become insufficient for one-way transport.

When PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Ntow what his major concern was ahead of Saturday’s election, he said, “economy.”

“The people of this country, including me, need change,” he said, lamenting the dwindling exchange rate of the cedi to the dollar. “The dollar rate was at Gh5 per dollar if I’m not mistaken, but it’s about Gh16 per dollar as we speak.”

The cedi, Ghana’s currency, has lost 70 per cent of its value in the last eight years.

As Ghanaians head to the polls on Saturday to elect the head of the cocoa-rich West African country, the state of the economy is seen as the core determinant of who emerges as president.

Ghana’s economic woes peaked in 2022 when inflation reached 54 per cent, the highest in almost 20 years. In the same year, the West African country also defaulted on its external debts, leading it to approach the IMF for a $3 billion bailout.

Ato Micah, a Ghanaian businessman, echoed Mr Ntow’s concerns about the economy. “The impact of inflation and depreciation of the Cedi against major trading currencies has impacted consumer purchasing power, that is a concern.”

The World Bank in 2022 said as many as 850,000 Ghanaians may have been pushed into poverty because of the rising prices of goods and services. This number joined the six million who were already living in poverty.

The Elections and key contenders

The November 7 elections will see 12 candidates participate in the country’s ninth presidential election since 1992.

Over 18.7 million registered voters will vote across over 40,000 polling stations.

Although 12 candidates will be on the ballot, Saturday’s election will be, again, a two-horse race between the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which has remained the main opposition party.

While the NPP is fielding incumbent Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, as the first Muslim to be a candidate of a major political party since 1992 and the first non-Akan to lead the party, the NDC is fielding former President John Mahama.

The NPP has hinged its campaign on continuity and a digital economy. The ruling party is seeking a third term to consolidate what they claim is a resilient economy. The party’s candidate, Mr Bawumia, is, however, confronted by the failures of his party and has the economic realities of the country trailing him.

The opposition, on the other hand, insists that it is time for a reset and has proposed a policy that will incentivise businesses to run for more than eight hours, which will, in turn, spur them to employ more people.

Mr Mahama has, however, been criticised for his performance as president (2012 – 2017), including corruption allegations and the ‘Dumsor’ (an electricity crisis) that plagued the country at the time.

Ghanaians like Yaw Okyere insist that what the country needs is “quality leadership to lead our country so that we can grow our economy, improve our standard of living, quality infrastructure to make life more comfortable, good governance that ensures the rights and safety of all Ghanaians.”

Another major determinant in the election is perhaps the mining ‘galamsey’ crisis, which saw Ghanaians take to the streets in large numbers to protest the pollution of water bodies caused by indiscriminate mining practices. The current government has received backlash from citizens and environmental activists in the country accusing it of complicity and refusal to curb the menace caused by the mining activities.

Possible Violence

Although parties have signed the peace pact and Ghana has a history of peaceful elections, there are concerns about possible violence in this year’s election.

The electoral commission has also noted a few flash points and deployed security to ensure a peaceful election.

Mr Ntow says that even though Ghana is known to be a peaceful country, “I fear there may be disagreement at some point even with the final result. As it stands now, the opposition party still believes the sitting government rigged the last elections.”

Similarly, Mr Okyere noted the tension between the two main parties and their foot soldiers is a cause for concern.

“NPP wants to remain in power and NDC has been in opposition for 8 years, which means their finances are draining out (incumbency), so they would want to win at all costs.”