Things to know about John Mahama, Ghana’s former, incoming President

Former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, has been declared winner of the Saturday presidential election in the West African country. The election has generated attention from across the globe, considering the pedigree of the contesters, especially the major front-runners. Mahama’s contender who is also the Ghana’s Vice President, Muhammadu Bawumia, has since conceded defeat […]

Former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, has been declared winner of the Saturday presidential election in the West African country.

The election has generated attention from across the globe, considering the pedigree of the contesters, especially the major front-runners.

Mahama’s contender who is also the Ghana’s Vice President, Muhammadu Bawumia, has since conceded defeat even before the official announcement was made by the country’s Electoral Commission.

In a phone call placed to Mahama, Bawumia said his decision to concede defeat was to ease tensions in the country which the election period had generated.

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He added: “I am making this concession speech before the official announcement by the Electoral Commission to avoid further tension and preserve the peace of our country.

“It is important that the world investor community continues to believe in the peaceful and democratic character of Ghana.

“The people have voted for change at this time, and we respect that decision with all humility.”

As Mahama takes the reigns of power for yet another fresh term, here are things you should know about him.

Background

Mahama was born on November 29, 1958 into an active political family. His father, Emmanuel Adama Mahama, a parliamentarian, had served as regional commissioner during the stint of Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah.

School

John Mahama attended Achimota School in Accra and Ghana Secondary School in Tamale for his Primary and Secondary School education respectively. In 1981, Mahama enrolled into the University of Ghana where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in History and subsequently completed a postgraduate studies in Communication in 1986. After teaching high-school history for a few years, he moved further to acquire a postgraduate degree in Social Psychology from the Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow and obtained his certificate in 1988.

Career

After returning to his country, Mahama started pursuing his career line. He worked in Accra as the Information, Culture and Research Officer at the embassy of Japan until 1995, when he moved to Ghana office of Plan International as Manager of International Relations, Sponsorship, Communication and Grants.

Political Life

Mahama became active in politics in 1996 when he was elected into the Parliament under the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and was reelected in 2000 and 2004. At the Parliament, Mahama, who demonstrated high sense of commitment to his statutory roles, held various positions. Between 1998 and 2001, he was Minister of Communications. He was later selected as the running mate of John Evans Atta Mills in the December 2008 presidential election, which they won and were inaugurated on January 7, 2009. But Mahama later became President following the demise of Mills in 2012, who died months before the expiration of his tenure.

During the following round of election, Mahama was selected to be the flag bearer of his party, the NDC, in the country’s presidential election. He was declared winner of the December 2012 election with 50.7 percent, defeating his close rival, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriot Party (NPP), who polled 47.74 percent.

Dissatisfied with the election results, Akufo-Addo filed a petition before the Supreme Court, citing election fraud. But in August 2013, Akufo’s suit was dismissed and Mahama’s victory upheld.

Mahama’s Days as President

During his time as Ghana’s President, Mahama faced challenges when the country’s economy dwindled. With falling global prices on Ghana’s primary exports, increasing debts, power outages, increasing costs associated with public wage, Ghana’s economy was impacted negatively and that unfortunate development put Mahama on a rather disadvantaged position, politically.

Mahama camme under heavy criticisms when his countrymen accused him of not effectively handling the nation’s affairs. Power shortages which affected the country and impacted the economy albeit in a negative way earned the then President a nickname of “Mr. Dumsor, dum-sor” which meant “off-on” in the Twi language, describing the incessant power cuts.

Mahama’s days at the Presidency ended in December 2016 when he was defeated by Akufo-Addo in the presidential election that was contested by many candidates.

Mahama, however, conceded and handed over the reigns of power to Akufo at the end of his (Mahama’s) tenure in January 2017.

Mahama also contested the Ghana’s 2020 election but lost to Akufo-Addo, the victory the former challenged at court, citing irregularities. Mahama’s petition was, however, dismissed in March 2021.

The Comeback

Determined in his cause, Mahama, who remained active in the Ghana’s political space, was once again made the flag bearer of the NDC in the December 2024 presidential election. Mahama, who contested the election along with 12 other candidates, was declared winner of the election.