John Mahama elected NDC flagbearer with 98.8% of valid votes – EC

The opposition National Democratic Congress has elected former President John Dramani Mahama as its flagbearer for the 2024 presidential election.

In a landslide victory, the former president polled 297,603 (98.9%) against his contender Kojo Bonsu who polled 3,181 (1.1%) in the election held on Saturday, May 13, 2023.

The Electoral Commission’s returning officer made the declaration in the wee hours of May 14, 2023.

John Dramani Mahama became president of Ghana ahead of the 2012 general election after succeeding his boss, John Evans Atta Mills following his demise.

The NDC later put John Mahama up as its presidential candidate in the 2012 presidential election where he clinched victory from his closest contender, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party.

John Mahama in 2016 lost power to Nana Akufo-Addo and subsequently failed to recapture power in 2020 when he was elected flagbearer of the NDC.

Ahead of the 2023 presidential primaries, John Mahama enjoyed wide endorsement within the NDC and was presumed the party’s flagbearer in waiting.

Ahead of the election, Dr Duffuor who is a former finance minister under the erstwhile NDC administration led by John Evans Atta Mills, had sought an interlocutory injunction against the party from going ahead with the election.

At the hearing of his application in Accra High Court barely 24 hours before the election, Dr Duffuor’s lawyers informed the court that they had been instructed by their client to withdraw the application.

Later at a press conference on Friday, Dr Duffuor announced his resignation from the flagbearership contest.