Ghana's President Will Accept Election Outcome
Electoral commission has not declared winner, but challenger Akufo-Addo expected to triumph
Ghanaian President John Mahama says he will accept the outcome of Wednesday's election, as the country waits for the electoral commission to declare a winner. News organizations in Ghana say that with most of the votes counted, Nana Akufo-Addo of the opposition New Patriotic Party, or NPP, is headed for a clear victory with about 53 percent. The electoral commission, however, has released results slowly, saying it wants to declare accurate results that reflect the will of the people. Calls have mounted on social media for the commission to speed up the vote count. Speaking to supporters Friday at his residence in the capital, Accra, Mahama appealed for calm, in addition to saying that he will accept the final results. Akufo-Addo and the police have also asked the public to remain patient while the electoral commission does its work. President Mahama is seeking a second term as leader of the West African country, a major exporter of oil, gold and cocoa. Akufo-Addo, a former foreign minister, has seized on Ghana's current economic woes as a campaign theme, accusing Mahama and the National Democratic Congress, or NDC, of incompetence. Mahama's term has been overshadowed by the plunge in global oil prices, which reduced government revenues and contributed to soaring inflation. The government accepted a $918 million bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Ghana is considered one of the most stable democracies in Africa, having witnessed several peaceful transfers of power since 1992.