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Mahama’s Comeback: What Ghana's President-Elect Means for the Nation's Future

Mahama’s Comeback: What Ghana's President Elect Means for the Nation's Future
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The outcome of the December 7, 2024, elections in Ghana reaffirmed the country's role as a democratic model in Africa. With a peaceful process and high voter turnout, Ghana opted for a leader returning for a second non-consecutive term to address pressing national issues.
Mahama's return to power demonstrates the maturity of Ghana's democracy, where voters hold leaders accountable. This victory highlights the country's commitment to democratic values and the need for leaders to deliver on their promises or risk being held accountable at the polls, Enoch Randy Aikins, a political economist and researcher at the Institute of Security Studies, Accra, Ghana, told Sputnik Africa.

"Ghana has become a beacon of democracy, not just in West Africa, Africa, and even globally. And we have had a thriving democracy since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1992. And this victory, once again, has more or less signified our commitment to democratic values as a country and also enrich our deep appreciation of democracy on the continent. I think Mahama's victory has a lot of implications for our democratic principles as a nation. I think, first of all, we need to also commend the opposition, the vice president, for conceding defeat even before the official results from the electoral commission came [...]. So these are clear indications that Ghana is consolidating democratic values and principles. So I think it is a lesson to African leaders; it is a lesson to politicians that when you, I, voted into power with a lot of goodwill to serve the people, you should not abuse your incumbency," Aikin notes.

For his part, Dr. Vladimir Antwi-Danso, Dean and Director of Academic Affairs at the Ghana Armed Forces Command & Staff College (GAFCSC) in Accra, underscores John Mahama's appreciation of his Soviet education, and his role in the Ghanaian graduates association hints at a positive view of Russia, citing his trip to Russia before the elections as a signal of a desire to recalibrate Ghana's foreign policy and improve relations with the Russian Federation.

"John Mahama has always shown some kind of gratitude for his background in education. He has been part of this Soviet-trained Ghanaian graduates association, of which I was the president some time back. And his demeanor shows that he's grateful for the education he has had in the Soviet Union, and his loyalty to our association shows that he has a leftist background one way or the other. But whether this will shape his foreign policy, I don't know. But I have a belief that this recent visit to Russia prior to the elections might suggest that he would have a soft spot for linking with Russia in a better way. [...] Our relationship with the Russian Federation should be recalibrated in the sense that there is a lot we can take from the Russians," Dr. Antwi-Danso says.

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