Ghana has elected its first woman vice president into office, multiple reports have confirmed.
On Sunday morning, it was confirmed that the country’s former President John Dramani Mahama won the presidential election after his opponent, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat. Mahama’s running mate, Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, was his running mate in both the 2020 and the 2024 elections.
“The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time and we respect it with all humility,” Bawumia said in a news conference shortly after the election was called.
Opoku-Agyemang began her academic career at the University of Cape Coast in 1986, holding various leadership roles including Head of the English Department, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Warden of Adehye Hall, and Founding Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research. Since 1997, she has served as the Academic Director for the School for International Training, focusing on the History and Cultures of the African Diaspora. From 2008 to 2012, she held the position of Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, assuming the role on October 1, 2008, following Emmanuel Addow-Obeng.
In March 2007, Opoku-Agyemang was among five scholars invited to speak at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City during the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery. Two years later, in October 2009, she was elected Ghana’s representative to the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Ahead of Ghana’s 2012 general elections, she co-moderated a debate with Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
On October 26, 2018, Opoku-Agyemang was appointed Chancellor of the Women’s University in Africa, located in Zimbabwe. Her extensive service includes contributions to numerous boards and committees, both local and international. These include the Centre for Democratic Governance (CDD-Ghana), the editorial board of the Harriet Tubman Series on the African Diaspora (Africa World Press, USA), the Africa Initiative in Canada, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Ghana, where she serves as an Eminent Citizen.
Mahama’s The victory marks a historic milestone, making him the first president in Ghana’s Fourth Republic—established with the return to multi-party democracy in 1992—to regain the presidency after previously being voted out.
Economic challenges dominated the election, as Ghana, a major producer of gold and cocoa, faced a financial crisis marked by default and currency devaluation, culminating in a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
During the campaign, Mahama pledged to combat corruption by establishing a new office to oversee government procurement contracts exceeding a $5 million threshold, highlighting unregulated procurement processes as a significant source of corruption.
However, Mahama also expressed support for the controversial anti-LGBTQ bill passed by Ghana’s parliament in February, which has yet to be signed into law but has drawn sharp international criticism.
The electoral commission indicated that official results were expected by Tuesday. Ghana, known for its history of democratic stability, has seen its two main political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), alternate power evenly since the adoption of multi-party democracy in 1992.
