Human rights lawyer and leader of the opposition party, Nana Akufo-Addo won Ghana’s national election on Friday, tapping into an electorate fed up with a sputtering economy and ready for change.
The erudite 72-year-old human rights lawyer cruised to victory winning 53.8 percent of the votes, according to the country’s election agency.
“I will not let you down. I will do all in my power to live up to your hopes and expectations,” Akufo-Addo said to an ecstatic crowd at his house in the country’s capital of Accra.
“I will do my best to serve your interests and put our country back on the path of progress and prosperity.”
Incumbent John Mahama conceded defeat in the evening two days after a hotly contested race that was seen as a test of the country’s democracy in a region plagued by dictators and coups.
Mahama called to congratulate opposition leader Akufo-Addo, whose New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters had been gathering for hours outside his house after local media gave him a clear lead following the Wednesday vote.
“Yes he has conceded defeat,” George Lawson of Mahama’s New Democratic Congress (NDC) party said.
Akufo-Addo had campaigned on a platform promising to boost growth and deliver jobs.
“The president of Ghana is president for every single Ghanaian,” Akufo-Addo
