It’s first father & son have ruled Ghana as President By Elvis DARKO, Accra
PRESIDENT-ELECT Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has made history as the first child of a former president of Ghana to assume the highest office of the land. He will be sworn in as 7th President of the 4th Republic on January 7, 2017 to serve a four year mandate that expires in 2020.
In August 1970, an electoral college elected his father, Justice Edward Akufo-Addo, as President of the Second Republic of Ghana on August 31, 1970. However, because of the fact that the Second Republican Constitution instituted a Parliamentary system of governance, Edward Addo was only a ceremonial executive.
True administrative power resided with the Prime Minister, Dr K. A. Busia, who assumed office when his Progress Party (PP) won the 1969 elections to usher in the Second Republic.
The Second Republic ended abruptly on 13th January, 1972, following a coup d’etat, led by Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, then a Colonel in the Ghana Army.
Nana Akufo-Addo’s victory will also go down in history as the first time that an opposition leader has won a Ghanaian election after just one round. In the 2000 Elections, the John Agyekum Kufuor of the NPP needed a run-off to defeat John Atta Mills, the then flagbearer of the incumbent National Democratic Congress. In 2008, John Attah Mills also needed a second round to beat the Presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Akufo Addo.
At 72 years, Nana Akufo-Addo becomes Ghana's oldest ever Head of State. The youngest was Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings, who was 31 when he took over government through a coup in June 1979.
The youngest democratically-elected Head of State, however, is Hilla Limann, who was 44 when he was elected President of Ghana after the 1979 elections.
The second oldest Head of State was John Evans Attah Mills, who was 64 at the time of his inauguration in 2009.
Nana Akufo-Addo's running mate, Mahamudu Bawumia, becomes Ghana's 7th Vice-President since independence.
He also becomes the joint-second youngest Ghanaian Vice-President at an age of 53. John Evans Attah Mills was also 53 years when he became Ghana’s Vice-President in 1997.
The oldest Ghana Vice-President was Kow Nkensen Arkaah, who was 66 when he became Vice-President to Jerry John Rawlings in 1993, while the youngest was Joseph de Graft-Johnson, who was 46 when he became Vice-President to Hilla Limann in 1979.
Bawumia would also go down as the third Ghanaian Vice-President to hail from the Northern Region of Ghana. The others are Alhaji Aliu Mahama (2001-2009) and John Dramani Mahama (2009-2012).
On Saturday evening, Electoral Commission Chairperson, Mrs Charlotte Osei, announced that even with four constituency results outstanding, Nana Addo garnered enough votes to be declared winner of the polls, with 53.85% or 5,716,026 of the total valid votes 10,615,361.
Incumbent President John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had 4,713,277 votes or 44.40%, with Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People's Party getting 105,682 votes or 1%.
Nana Akufo-Addo beat his closest contender President John Mahama with over one million votes.
President John Dramani Mahama obtained 5,574,761 votes in 2012 compared to 4,713,277 votes in 2016.
That translates into 861,484 fewer voters or a decline of 15.5% support within an election cycle.
On the other hand, President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo secured 5,248,898 votes in 2012 compared to 5,716,026 votes in 2016.
This also translates to 467,128 more voters or a gain of 8.9% support within an election cycle.
Put together, the 2 Presidents gained 10,823,659 votes in 2012 compared to 10,429,303 in 2016.
Therefore, on an aggregate basis, about 394,356 fewer votes were cast for the two candidates in 2016.