Ghana elections: Voters set to choose new president

Vocabulary: 383, Words: 710

1As voting continues in Ghana's general election, police say four men have been arrested following the fatal shooting of one person and the wounding of another.

2It happened at a polling station in the northern town of Nyankpala, where police say an opposition candidate running to become a local MP had attempted to file a complaint but was stopped by ruling party supporters.

3Soldiers have since been sent there in armoured vehicles to restore calm.

4Elsewhere election day has been peacefully conducted, with some Ghanaians queuing before dawn to make sure they cast their ballots.

5A debt crisis and high living costs mean the economy is uppermost in the minds of many voters.

6The West African nation is guaranteed a new president as Nana Akufo-Addo steps down after reaching the official limit of two terms in office.

7But he could be replaced with a familiar face, if former President John Mahama succeeds in his comeback attempt for the NDC party.

8His main challenger is expected to be Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, who would become the country's first Muslim leader if he wins for the governing NPP party.

9Other candidates include Nana Kwame Bediako, a businessman popular with young voters and Alan Kyerematen, who defected from the ruling NPP party last year.

10Close to 19 million Ghanaians are registered to vote.

11Despite Ghana recently bringing in tougher legislation to drive up the numbers of women in frontline politics, only one woman is in the running to become president - Nana Akosua Sarpong Frimpomaa of the Convention People's Party (CPP).

12The only other female presidential candidate in this election - Akua Donkor of the Ghana Freedom Party - died in October. 13Yet her name will still be listed on ballot papers because the candidate chosen to succeed her was disqualified.

14Saturday's general election also sees voters in 275 constituencies across the country choosing their members of parliament.

15Since the return of multi-party politics to Ghana in 1992, only candidates from either the National Democratic Congress (NDC) or the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) have won the presidency.

16No party has ever won more than two consecutive terms in power.

17Voters have a 10-hour window on Saturday to cast their ballots - 07:00-17:00 GMT.

18Ghana's land borders have been closed until Sunday evening, in a move that correspondents describe as unusual.

19Election results are set to be announced within three days.

20In order to win in the first round, a presidential candidate must gain more than 50% of the vote. 21Failing that, the top two contenders will enter a run-off vote to take place by the end of December.

22Voting for the first time, 18-year-old Serwaa Yeboah Joshebeth told the BBC "it is important for you to vote to choose the best for your country".

23The recent graduate wants to see more job opportunities, "not for me alone 24but for others who need them [too]."

25Kojo Yeboah, 95, agrees.

26"The next leader must focus on education and jobs for the youth," the retired university worker told the BBC outside a polling booth in the city of Kumasi.

27"I benefit from stipends from the state at my age already," he adds.

28As campaigns came to a close on Friday, Bawumia said of his main rival: "What is clear is that notwithstanding the challenges we've had, we have performed better than the government of John Dramani Mahama."

29While Mahama told supporters "it is a choice between the Ghana we have today and the Ghana we want together. 30A Ghana of opportunity, prosperity, and justice for all."

31Ghanaians have been hit particularly hard by inflation in recent years, which reached a peak of 54.1% in 2022. 32Although it has since come down, many thousands of people have been pushed into poverty and living standards have suffered, says the World Bank.

33That same year, Ghana defaulted on its debt repayments and the government is still in lengthy negotiations with international lenders to try and restructure the loans.

34Unemployment is also at a high - particularly among the young, whose views could have a big impact on the outcome of the election.

35Additional reporting by Favour Nunoo in Accra and Damian Zane in London

36Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

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from BBC