Bawumia: How I resisted advice not to concede defeat too early.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) presidential candidate in the just concluded December 7, 2024, general election, has provided specifics of some of the events that led to his concession speech, which came less than 12 hours after the election.

Dr. Bawumia, Ghana's current Vice President, spoke to a crowd in a viral video footage spotted by GhanaWeb, explaining how he ignored the suggestion of some members of his campaign staff not to admit defeat.

He stated that the aforementioned team members informed him that no one had ever conceded loss in the country's presidential race before the results were declared by the Ghana Electoral Commission.

But he informed them that if it had never been done before, he would be the first to do it for the sake of the country.

Bawumia claimed he accepted loss early to quell claims that the election was rigged, which could have resulted in violence.

"Even though the Electoral Commission had not yet ruled, some of my team members were saying you can't go out and concede because we don't know if all this data is correct; let's wait. And all that. I responded, "Look, we know this data is correct from our own system, so if you wait, you risk increasing tension and violence because people will believe we are rigging the election."

"Because that is the message that is coming: that we are attempting to rig the election. However, no election has ever been conceded without the EC making a public announcement. And I said, "Everything happens for the first time." In the interest of our country's peace and stability, I will come out, and I will be the first to capitulate even before the EC," he stated.

He added, "So at 9 a.m., I stepped out and conceded right here where we are standing. I spoke to the country and stated that I believe that in the interests of peace and security, our democracy, and our economic environment, any violence discourages investors from coming to this country and only encourages terrorists from our sub-region to come here because there is instability, which is not what God intends for Ghana. "God wants a peaceful Ghana."