| Country: | Ghana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous Election: | 2020 Ghanaian general election | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous Year: | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Next Year: | 2028 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Election Date: | 7 December 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General elections will be held in Ghana on 7 December 2024 to elect the president and members of Parliament.[1] [2] Incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo is term-limited and thus ineligible to run again.
The President of Ghana is elected using the two-round system, whilst the 275 members of Parliament are elected in single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting.[3] [4]
Eligible voters must be Ghanaian citizens who are at least 18 years old, although those declared insane are disenfranchised. Parliamentary candidates must be Ghanaian citizens at least 21 years old, and either be resident in their constituency or have lived there for at least five of the ten years prior to the election.[5]
The ruling New Patriotic Party opened its nomination period on 26 May 2023, and closed nominations on 24 June 2023. It selected its candidate at its National Congress on 4 November 2023.[6] In the event more than five candidates filed to run in the primaries, the party would have called call a Special Congress on 26 August. Incumbent President Akufo-Addo said that members of his cabinet who sought to run for president should step down from their posts to focus on their campaigns, prompting a number of resignations.[7] [8]
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
To reduce the number of candidates, the NPP held a Special Super Delegates Congress on 26 August 2023, which would select the top five candidates who would then go on to contest the final primary in November. Vice President Bawumia placed first, with 68% of the vote. To the surprise of many observers, "maverick" MP Kennedy Agyapong, running a campaign largely critical of the Akufo-Addo administration, placed second, edging out NPP veteran Alan Kyeremanten, who first ran for President in 2008. Owusu Afriyie Akoto placed fourth, while Francis Addai-Nimoh and Boakye Agyarko tied for fifth place, necessitating a run-off, which Addai-Nimoh won, rounding out the five final candidates for the primary.[13] However, Kyeremanten announced that he would withdraw from the primary (later leaving the NPP entirely and launching his own third-party campaign), leaving four candidates.[14]
The NPP held its primary on 4 November 2023. Bawumia again won by a wide margin, confirming him as the NPP's nominee for the 2024 elections, although Agyapong placed in an ever stronger second relative to his performance in the Super Delegates' Congress.[15]
The opposition National Democratic Congress opened its nomination period on 22 February 2023 and closed nominations on 22 March 2023. Candidates were required to post a GH₵500,000 filing fee and a GH₵30,000 nomination fee (women and disabled candidates were eligible for a 50% discount, but none ultimately applied). The NDC would select its candidate on 13 May 2023.[16]
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
The NDC primary was held on 13 May 2023. Kobeah dropped out on 29 March and Duffuor dropped out the day before the election, claiming irregularities in the organization of the polls, leaving two candidates.[18] [19] Former President Mahama won nomination in an overwhelming landslide, winning nearly 99% of the vote, setting the stage for the fourth consecutive election in which he would be the NDC's flag-bearer.[20] Bonsu called Mahama to concede and offer his support.[21]
In June 2024, the NDC accused the electoral commission of colluding with the ruling NPP to rig the elections via an illegal voter transfer scheme, which the NDC claimed was orchestrated by Yohane Amarh Ashitey, the NPP Parliamentary Candidate and the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive.[22]
On 25 September 2023, Alan John Kyeremanten formed the Movement For Change party to aspire for the 2024 Ghanaian general election as an independent presidential candidate for the presidential race after resigning from New Patriotic Party (NPP). Therefore he will be a presidential candidate for the 2024 Ghanaian general election.[23]
On 7 January 2024, real estate developer Nana Kwame Bediako announced that he would run as the candidate for the New Force movement. This followed weeks of speculation during which the New Force teased its fielding of a "masked" candidate who was widely expected to be Bediako. The announcement, which was due to take place at Black Star Square, was postponed after the presidential administration pulled the permit for the rally, citing a "an unforeseen state event".[24]