Mahama’s win: A historic margin and beating Mills, Akufo-Addo record of consecutive runs

John Mahama was in the wee hours of May 14, 2023 declared winner of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearership contest with an expected landslide.

The outcome is significant at two levels.

It is the largest margin recorded in a presidential primary in the major political parties, but it also represents the fourth consecutive bid at the presidency by one man.

Mahama’s primary dominance went a notch higher with his 98.9% winning margin as against just about 1% for Kojo Bonsu, his sole contender.

Mahama’s primary record

When Mills died in office in 2012, his Vice President at the time, John Dramani Mahama was elected by the party via acclamation with months to the 2012 elections. Mahama went on to win the elections against Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

As an incumbent in the lead up to the 2016 elections, Mahama was not contested instead the party opted for a system where all registered members of the party participated in an acclamation that returned over 93% ‘YES.’

Mahama’s biggest test in a flagbearer race was in 2019 in the run up to the 2020 elections.

He came up against five party stalwarts and one outsider in the race to be on the ballot paper. In the end, Mahama prevailed with a landslide 95% win as the others scrambled with less than 5% of total votes cast.

The 98.9% outcome from the May 13 process is 3% points higher that his last showing.

Equaling Mills, Akufo-Addo record

President John Evans Atta Mills is the second flagbearer the NDC has known after party founder Jerry John Rawlings.

Mills contested in 2000 elections and lost, took a second bite in 2004 and lost before prevailing in 2008. He was acclaimed as flagbearer in run up to 2000 polls but won primaries in 2004 and 2008. That makes three jabs before securing the presidency.

President Akufo-Addo was also unsuccessful on his first attempt in 2008 losing to mills and in 2012 losing to Mahama, it was on his third attempt that he prevailed against Mahama.

Mahama is taking his fourth consecutive bid at the top job. Winning in 2012 and losing in 2016 and 2020, in effect, he is the first to make a go at the presidency for four consecutive times even though he was also the first after Jerry Rawlings to win on first attempt.

Sights set on the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and who they will elect later this year, there on, the 2024 presidential polls will be firmly in motion.