Record-breaking moments of the 2024 general election

The 2024 general elections in the country have concluded, marking the end of years of anticipation by Ghanaians to choose a new leader.

After the results were collated, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission declared John Dramani Mahama of the NDC as the President-Elect.

He secured 6,328,397 votes, which accounts for 56.55% of the valid votes cast, defeating his closest opponent, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), in a race that featured 12 presidential candidates.

To climax the 2024 elections, several records have been broken, with new ones set, marking the dawn of a new electoral era in the country and setting important precedents for the future.

With numerous new records set and previous ones surpassed, GhanaWeb reviews the milestones achieved in the 2024 general elections.

1. Mahama makes a comeback:

Following his landslide victory, John Dramani Mahama has become the first former president of Ghana's 4th Republic to make a successful comeback.

Having served just one term from 2012 to 2016, John Dramani Mahama sought re-election that same year but suffered a significant defeat to his opponent, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party. This loss made him the first sitting president in Ghana's history to lose an election.

Despite failing in 2020, Mahama recorded his biggest comeback from the opposition with 6,328,397 votes, which accounts for 56.55%.

2. Biggest presidential victory since 1996:

The NDC's 56.55% victory in the 2024 general elections marks the party's largest win since 1996. Former president Jerry John Rawlings, who secured 58.4% in the 1992 elections and 57.4% in 1996, led the party to its biggest victories.

However, in subsequent elections, the party's win rate steadily declined, with its lowest point being 47.9% in the 2008 elections.

With John Mahama’s current 56.55%, the party has seen an improvement in its numbers.

3.Ghana’s first female vice president:



The election of John Dramani Mahama as president and Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as vice president has shattered the status quo, setting a new trajectory for women in Ghanaian politics.

Becoming Ghana’s first-ever female vice president, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang in her victory speech vowed to pave the way for others to succeed in her groundbreaking role.

In Ghana's history, vice presidential candidates have been predominantly male, making it nearly impossible for a woman to reach such heights. However, the narrative has now changed with the country welcoming its first female vice president.

This marks a significant stepping stone for the country, paving the way for women to take on prominent roles and succeed in them accordingly.

4. NDC wins 21 constituencies for the first time:



Following their emphatic victory in the presidential elections, the NDC has, for the first time, won 21 constituencies in the parliamentary race, unseating key figures from the NPP.

In the Greater Accra Region, the NDC secured victories in Dome Kwabenya, Ablekuma West, Ayawaso Central, Tema West, and Okaikwei South. In the Ashanti Region, they captured the Adansi Asokwa, Obuasi East, Ahafo Ano, and South East seats. For the first time, the NDC also won the Sekondi, Kwesimintsim, and Tarkwa Nsuem seats in the Western Region.

Additionally, the NDC claimed seats in the Bono Region, including Sunyani West, Dormaa Central, and Dormaa East. In the Central Region, they won Awutu Senya East, Assin Central, and Upper Denkyira East, while also capturing Asutifi North in the Ahafo Region.

For the first time since 2012, the NDC has won the Awutu Senya East, Ablekuma West, and Okaikwei Central constituencies, while also securing the Dome Kwabenya seat for the first time in 28 years.

5. Longest-serving democratically elected president:



Currently, former President John Agyekum Kufuor as well as the late former President Jerry John Rawlings hold the joint record of the longest-serving democratically elected presidents. They have all been in the Office of the President of Ghana for eight years.

The late Jerry John Rawlings is, however, the longest-serving head of state of Ghana, having served as a military ruler for 11 years and 117 days and as a democratically elected president for 8 years (19 years and 117 days in total).

The record for the longest-serving democratically elected president will go to John Dramani Mahama if he wins the 2024 elections.

Mahama has already been President for 4 years and 167 days, and if he becomes President for another 4 years, he would have held the office of the President for 8 years and 167 days.

6. The only democratically elected President who has held the Sword of the State three times:

So far, four of the democratically elected presidents of Ghana in the 4th Republic – Rawlings, Kufuor, Mahama, and Akufo-Addo – have been sworn into office and held the Sword of State two times.

The late Prof. Atta Mills and the other elected leaders of Ghana in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Republics only held the state sword once.

Mahama, having held the state sword twice, the first time when he became President on July 24, 2012, after the demise of Prof. Atta Mills, and the second time on January 7, 2013, when he won the 2012 election, would hold it again if he is sworn into office on January 7, 2025.

For now, these are some of the records broken so far. More of the electoral results for the parliamentary are yet to be declared by the Electoral Commission.



MAG/OGB