6 key regions that would decide the winner of elections 2020
Ghanaians are gearing up for the December 2020 polls where it is expected that a new president will be elected or retained to govern the country for the next four years.
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Elections, as usual, are determined by numbers at the polling stations. Over the years, since Ghana’s first election in 1992, it has turned out that some regions have stood out to determine who wins the election.
Usually, voter turnouts in these regions are overwhelming. It must be established, too, that all presidents who have won elections in the history of Ghana’s politics have won in these regions.
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YEN.com.gh has dug into the national archives and brings you the 6 key regions that are likely to decide the winner of elections 2020.
1. Central: The Central Region has since 1992 been part of the regions that determine who wins the elections. For instance, in 1992, the winner of the election, Jerry John Rawlings, of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), won with 222,097, representing 66.5% of the total votes cast in that region. In 1996, JJ won again with 330,841, representing 55.2% of the votes.
Then again in 2000, former president John Agyakum Kufour of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), won the election with Central Region giving him a vote cast of 259,367 representing 49.67 of the total vote cast. In 2004, he won again with 415,813 of the total vote cast representing 58.80% of the votes.
In 2008, the NDC presidential candidate, Professor John Evans Fiifi Atta-Mills, won the elections with 345,126 votes representing 50.58% of the total vote cast. John Mahama of the NDC won the elections with 492,374 votes from the Central Region representing 52.12% of the total votes cast. In the last election held in 2016, President Akufo-Addo won with 496,668 of the total votes cast, representing 53.22%.
2. Western Region: The Western Region has also recorded a massive number of votes for the winners of the election. For instance, in 1992, Rawlings won with 239,447 votes representing 60.7% of the total votes cast. He won again in 1996 with 405, 992, presenting 57.3%. In 2000, Kufour won in the Western Region with 281,057 representing 49.13%. He again won in 2014 with 483,886 representing 57.70%. In 2016, Akufo-Addo won with 496,668 representing 53.22%.
3. Greater Accra: The Greater Accra Region is known to be the most populous region with the highest number of voter turnout. In 1992, Rawlings won the elections with 27,825, presenting 53.4%. In 1996, he won again with 658,626 representing 54.0%. In 2000, Kufour won with 580,163 representing 53.10%. In 2008, Atta Mills won with 870, 011 representing 52.11%. In 2012, John Mahama won with 1,125,751, representing 52.31%. Akufo-Addo snatched power from Mahama by winning with 1,062, 157 votes representing 52.42%.
4. Ashanti Region: The Ashanti Region has been marked as a stronghold of NPP. This is because no matter who wins power, the NPP always wins elections over there. For instance, Adu Boahen of the NPP got a whopping 431,380 number of votes even though Rawlings won that year’s election.
In 2000, Kufour won the election with 950,597 votes representing 74.80% with Atta Mills of the NDC managing only 286,012 votes representing 22.51%. In 2008, Akufo-Addo secured a total of 1,219,530 votes representing 72.53% though he lost the elections to Atta-Mills of the NDC who polled only 437,243 representing 26.01%.
In the last election held in 2016, Akufo-Addo won the election with 1,646,949 votes representing 76.27%, with Mahama getting a paltry 497,242 votes representing 23.03%.
5. Volta Region: This region is also the stronghold of the NDC mainly because JJ Rawlings hails from there. Just like in the case of the Ashanti Region, the NDC always wins elections in this region even if they lose in the final declaration.
In 1992, for instance, the NDC won with a massive 446,365 votes representing 93.2%. And though Kufour won the 2020 elections, he only polled 46, 272 of the total votes cast representing 7.9%, while Atta-Mills secured 505,614 votes making 86.28%. In 2012, Mahama won the elections with 734,641 votes representing 85.47%, while Akufo-Addo only polled 111,149 votes representing 12.93%.
6. Brong Ahafo: This region is swing one. Both the NDC and NPP have all had good fortunes there in determining the winner of the election since 1992. In that year, for instance, Rawlings won the elections with 243,361 votes representing 61.9% while Adu Boahen of the NPP won 116,041, representing 29.5%.
In 2000, Kufour won with 306,506 representing 50.58%, while Atta-Mills of the NDC got only 207,465 representing 44.63%. In 2016, Mahama won the election with 511,244 votes representing 51.59%, while Akufo-Addo only polled 469,909 votes representing 47.33%.
In 2016, it swung to the favour of the NPP when Akufo-Addo won with 531,147 votes representing 53.87%, while the NDC polled 442,789 votes representing 44.91%
Ghanaians, however, would need to wait to see how things turn out with these key regions in the coming elections.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
