Ghana's presidential race: Candidates intensify campaigns

Ghana's two leading candidates for December's presidential election are seeking to cover major ground by preaching their policies and promises to voters.

Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia, from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), is facing off against John Dramani Mahama from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who served as Ghana's president between 2013-2017. 

Mahama is making his third attempt at securing the country's top job, failing to do so in the 2016 and 2020 elections. He lost to outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo, who has served the maximum two teams in office, so is not in the running for this year's vote.

Tailored campaign strategies dominate presidential race

The frontrunners have used different strategies to reach out to targeted groups to outline their policies.

"The campaigns over the years, especially for the two major political parties, have gone through some changes," political analyst Ibrahim Alhassan told DW. "So both the NDC and the NPP have decided to now adopt what is referred to as a tailored campaign strategy." 

Alhassan noted that rather than holding rallies that attract large crowds, they favor a more community-based approach. 

Both Bawumia and Mahama have focused on Ghana's economic recovery, which has been a major thorn in the side of the outgoing Akufo-Addo presidency.

Ghana is currently under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program to help restore its economy, having defaulted on most of its $30 billion external debt due to years of accumulated borrowing. The $3 billion (€2.78 billion) IMF support package was to help the West African country restructure its debt.

Digital innovation versus a 24-hour economy

Bawumia, an economist and former central banker, has spoken of digital innovation policies as key solutions to Ghana's economic woes.

"All the youth, we need jobs. I am going to give one million youths digital skills in Ghana," Bawumia said at a campaign rally in Ghana's southeastern Volta region. "Everybody, even if you are a school dropout, we can give you digital skills."

Mahama has been trumpeting his party's 24-hour economic policy, which he says would unlock Ghana's economic potential.

He said that expanding economic activities outside of traditional working hours would enable businesses to grow and employ more young people.

"Despite the president and vice president claiming to have created over 2 million jobs, I ask where are these jobs and how many have reached the residents," he told supporters at one of his campaign rallies in Ghana's Ahafo region.

"This seems like mere rhetoric aimed at winning votes. That is why we are advocating for a 24-hour economy policy to create new job opportunities." 

Alhassan said the NDC's flagship 24-hour economy policy has "caught on [with some voters], and that is what the party is pushing." 

"The NPP's digitalization, which has always been the mantra for the NPP's flagbearer and the current vice president, is equally being pushed," the political analyst told DW.

Both candidates have also promised as part of their campaign platforms to remove some taxes, including the 10% tax on betting income, COVID-19 levy and electronic transfer levy, which were introduced by the current government. 

"But by and large, what I have noticed about the campaign promises, especially for the two parties, is that they are almost all the same," Alhassan noted.

What are voters saying?

Both the NPP and the NDC enjoy significant support in their respective strongholds, so their candidates have been targeting voters who are undecided about which party they will vote for. 

Kwaku Amponsah, an undecided voter in Ghana's capital, Accra, told DW that neither party's campaign messages have done anything to sway his choice.

"There is nothing promising about their promises," he said, adding that he doubts they have any real solutions.

Amponsah's concerns were echoed by Isaac Ayesu, another undecided voter, who told DW that he has little trust for the politicians.

"These two parties have nothing to offer this country," he said. "Their promises are fake. They just want power and to use it for their own good." He suggested that he might not even cast his vote.

Alhassan said such concerns from voters are legitimate.

"More and more, voters are becoming discerning," he said. "The economic conditions in the country are making things more difficult for the governing party, and the expectation that after every eight years, power shifts has reinforced the messages of the NDC." 

Defections and parliamentary chaos

Ghana's 2020 election produced a hung parliament, with the NPP and NDC each securing 137 seats in the 275-seat parliament. An independent candidate won the remaining seat.

The opposition NDC now holds a slim majority following the defection of four MPs earlier in October — two from the NPP, one from the NDC, and one independent lawmaker — who announced their intention to contest the upcoming election on different tickets. 

Ghana's constitution bars MPs from defecting from the party under which they were elected in order to run for another party or as independents, so the speaker, Alban Bagbin, declared the four seats vacant, triggering a significant political dispute. 

The parliament adjourned indefinitely on Tuesday amid the turmoil. 

Alhassan said the chaos — which has effectively halted all legislative activity less than two months before the elections and could freeze the passage of critical bills and budgetary approvals — has highlighted the importance of one party securing a clear majority in the December vote. 

"Getting a majority in the next parliament is very crucial," the political analyst told DW, "and the two flagbearers have been campaigning along those lines that never again should voters return that verdict on the level of closeness in the lawmaking chamber." 

Edited by: Keith Walker