Ghana’s main opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo won the country’s national election, defeating President John Mahama, electoral commissioner Charlotte Osei said.
Crowds of jubilant supporters gathered outside the house of the 72-year-old New Patriotic Party (NPP) leader, who had already claimed victory on Thursday, a day after the voting took place.
Akufo-Addo defeated President Mahama by 53.8 percent to 44.4 percent, Osei said, sparking scenes of celebration in the capital Accra.
“It is my duty and my privilege to declare Nana Akufo-Addo as the president elect of Ghana,” she told a news conference in the capital on Friday.
Prior to Osei’s announcement, Akufo-Addo said on Twitter that Mahama called him “congratulating me on winning the 2016 Presidential Election”.
“I make this solemn pledge to you tonight: I will not let you down. I will do all in my power to live up to your hopes and expectations,” Akufo-Addo told a jubilant crowd in front of his residence.
Ghana’s state television has also confirmed Maham’s concession.
