Three Men, Nine Elections: NDC’s presidential journey since 1992

One of the major political parties in the country, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has presented three different candidates in Ghana’s presidential elections since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1992.

This GhanaWeb article chronicles the three individuals who have carried the NDC’s presidential ticket across nine presidential elections from 1992 to 2024.

Jerry John Rawlings

The party’s first presidential candidate was Jerry John Rawlings, who contested the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections.

He won the 1992 election, which was held on November 3. Rawlings ran as the candidate of the Progressive Alliance, which included his National Democratic Congress, and won 58.4% of the vote, enough to win without the need for a run-off.

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Rawlings secured another victory for the NDC in 1996, serving as president for two terms.

Professor John Evans Atta Mills

After Rawlings completed his constitutional two-term limit, Prof John Evans Atta Mills became the NDC’s presidential candidate.

Atta Mills represented the party in three consecutive elections: 2000, 2004 and 2008.

He lost the 2000 and 2004 elections to New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate John Agyekum Kufuor but won the 2008 election after a closely contested run-off.

Atta Mills subsequently became president in January 2009 and served until his death in July 2012.

John Dramani Mahama

John Dramani Mahama then became the NDC’s presidential candidate for the 2012 election.

Mahama won the 2012 election and went on to contest the 2016 and 2020 elections for the NDC, losing both to NPP candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

He returned as the NDC’s presidential candidate for the 2024 election and defeated the NPP’s candidate, Mahamudu Bawumia.

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With Mahama’s return to the presidency following the 2024 election, he became the third person to have represented the NDC as its presidential candidate since 1992.

Across the nine elections, the late former president Rawlings, contested two, the late Prof Atta Mills also contested three, while the sitting president has contested four.

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