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Ghana election: President admits defeat in poll | Ghana election: President admits defeat in poll |
(35 minutes later) | |
Ghana's President John Mahama has conceded to opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo, the governing NDC party has told the BBC. | Ghana's President John Mahama has conceded to opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo, the governing NDC party has told the BBC. |
Mr Akufo-Addo tweeted that the president had phoned him to congratulate him on his election win. | Mr Akufo-Addo tweeted that the president had phoned him to congratulate him on his election win. |
A BBC correspondent in the capital Accra says celebrations are breaking out as people react to the news. | A BBC correspondent in the capital Accra says celebrations are breaking out as people react to the news. |
It is the first election defeat for a sitting president since Ghana returned to multi-party democracy in 1992. | It is the first election defeat for a sitting president since Ghana returned to multi-party democracy in 1992. |
Ghana's Electoral Commission (EC) declared Mr Akufo-Addo the winner, with 53.85% of the votes, while Mr Mahama took 44.40%, reports the BBC's Akwasi Sarpong at the scene. | |
Turnout was more than 68%. | |
"It's my duty to declare Nana Akufo-Addo as President-elect of the Republic of Ghana," Charlotte Osei, the commission's chairwoman told media at its headquarters in Accra. | |
It is the second time in the space of a week that a West African president has conceded to an opposition candidate, following the shock defeat of President Yahya Jammeh in The Gambia's elections. | |
Electoral victory has come at the third attempt for Mr Akufo-Addo, a 72-year-old lawyer, who has promised to industrialise the country and build factories in each of Ghana's 216 districts. |