5 top reasons why John Mahama nearly won the December 7 elections
Former President, John Dramani Mahama, seeks to be reelected into office in the December 7 general election on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
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YEN.com.gh takes a look at five top factors that could play in the favour of the former president and see him back in office in January 2020.
1. Missing compelling drive from the NPP
In 2016, Mahama's biggest contenders, Nana Akufo-Addo and his running mate, Mahamudu Bawumia, were seen to be agents of change coming in to save Ghana from all its troubles.
Bawumia conducted numerous public lectures that gave Ghanaians the impression that Ghana will become like heaven if the NPP wins.
It was no surprise that the NPP won the NDC with a record-breaking margin of over one million votes in the 2016 presidential election.
However, in 2020, there does not seem to be any compelling force driving Ghanaians to massively rally behind the NPP as they did in 2016.
This likely counted in the favour of the NDC's presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama.
2. Mahama won in countless online polls
Not every Ghanaian is on social media. However, according to datareportal.com, internet penetration in Ghana stood at 48% in January 2020 and increases with about 1 million each year.
This suggests that millions of Ghanaians are active on social media and the polls conducted online can, in many cases, accurately represent the will of the people.
About six months ago, Mahama beat Akufo-Addo with 54.7% of votes to emerge winner in a popular online poll by Becca, a renowned singer.
Three months after that, Mahama led Akufo-Addo by 13% in another famous poll powered by GhanaWeb and the Africa Consumer Panel.
Later, when John Mahama selected his running mate, a whopping 70% of Ghanaians chose Jane and John over Bawumia and Nana in a viral poll conducted by YEN.com.gh.
After this, another poll saw 73% of participants choose Jane Naana over Bawumia as vice-president of Ghana.
These statistics may have reflected in the December 7 presidential elections.
Source: UGC
3. NPP's alleged failure at dealing with corruption
Incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo was voted into power mainly because of this flagship promises to build more factories, improve education and stamp out corruption.
On corruption, the office of the special prosecutor was established and lauded by many.
However, after years of serving in office, Ghanaians appear to not be satisfied with the performance of Martin Amidu, the special prosecutor.
Even more, Nana Akufo-Addo has been accused of running a 'family and friends' government instead of barefacedly recruiting genuine officials to steer the country's affairs.
A few months ago, Nana Addo asked the auditor-general to forcibly proceed on leave, which many people interpreted as a move to prevent any dealings of corruption from being dugout.
These are probable reasons why many Ghanaians refused to grant Nana four more years.
4. Excessive borrowing
Ghana's current vice-president, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, holds a PhD in Economics from the Simon Fraser University, Burnaby.
In 2016, he rained heavy criticisms on the then Mahama government for excessive borrowing, claiming it was not the way to go for Ghana's development.
Many Ghanaians undoubtedly trusted that when Bawumia becomes vice-president, Ghana's debt stock will not grow any longer or increase only marginally.
However, the statistics show the exact opposite.
In December 2016, Ghana’s total debt was GHS122 billion, representing about 62% of GDP. Currently, Ghana's total debt stock has risen to over GHS 250 billion, which is more than a 100% increase in the total amount Ghana owed in 2016.
Many Ghanaians appeared to have been highly displeased with this development and therefore voted for the NDC government.
5. The negative impact of COVID-19
The entire world has had a hard time in 2020 because of the economic disruption caused by the novel coronavirus which came to Ghana in March 2020.
Ghana's government, since the confirmation of the country's first two cases, has put in place different forms of relief mechanisms to shield Ghanaians from the economic hardships caused by the pandemic.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has still caused a loss of jobs, downturn of businesses, and taken away many livelihoods of people all over the country.
It is possible that the effects of the pandemic resulted in a negative outcome for the ruling NPP government in the December elections.
Donald Trump of the United States suffered a similar fate in the US elections mainly due to the impact of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, as it has become the norm since the fourth republic began in 1992, the battle is drawn between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In a repeat of the 2016 elections, the NPP is being led by Nana Akufo-Addo, the incumbent president, against the NDC's John Mahama.
YEN.com.gh brings you a list of Ghanaian stars and their affiliations. It must be noted many of these stars have consistently supported their respective parties even before 2020.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
