Politics and Elections

John Mahama, the Only President without Second Term – Prez Akufo-Addo

John Mahama was elected after the December 2012 election to serve as full-time President. He contested re-election for a second term in the 2016 election but lost to the candidate Nana Akufo-Addo. This made him the first president in the history of Ghana to not have won a second term.

John Mahama assumed office as the President of Ghana on July 24, 2012, following the passing of John Atta Mills. His term came to an end on January 7, 2017. Before his presidency, Mahama served as the Vice-President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012. Notably, he is the first vice president in Ghana to ascend to the presidency due to the death of his predecessor. Additionally, Mahama holds the distinction of being the first Ghanaian head of state born after the country’s independence.

Upon assuming office, Mahama continued the Better Ghana Agenda policy vision initiated by his predecessor, John Atta Mills.

John Mahama represented the National Democratic Congress (NDC) while Akufo-Addo was chosen once again as the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party during the 2016 general elections. On his third time representing the New Patriotic Party, Akufo-Addo defeated John Dramani Mahama in the first round (winning with 53.85% of the votes), which marked the first time in a Ghanaian presidential election that an opposition candidate won a majority outright in the first round.

Version 1: The 7th Parliament of the Fourth Republic saw the election of Members of Parliament (MPs) on 7 December 2016. Interestingly, the Speaker, although not elected, is eligible to run for election as an MP. Ghana has a total of 275 constituencies, with 45 new ones created before the 2012 election.

The inaugural sitting of the 7th Parliament took place on Sunday, 7 January 2017, just after midnight. During this session, a Speaker and Deputy Speakers were elected, and oaths were administered to both the Speaker and MPs. Results from 238 constituencies can be found in the table below.

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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says he has been the luckiest head-of-state ever in the history of Ghana with massive support from all including the overlord of the Ashanti Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

According to him, he was fortunate to have been elected twice to serve the nation – a privilege he said the former President John Dramani Mahama did not get hence his continued “outcry”.

“I have been president twice, and when your time is up you find a replacement, but some did not get that privilege, they only had one chance, and that is why they are pained till now,” he said.

“God was on my side to have been president twice,” President Akufo-Addo said at the grand unveiling of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) running mate, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh in Kumasi.

Recently, President Nana Akufo-Addo said the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, does not deserve to win the December 7 polls because he lacks new ideas.

He referenced Mr John Mahama’s previous track record, highlighting his defeat in his second attempt at reelection as evidence of his unsuitability for the presidency.

Speaking at the unveiling of NPP running mate Matthew Opoku Prempeh on Tuesday, the President drew comparisons with former Presidents Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor, and himself, who all served two terms.

Akufo-Addo emphasised that Mahama’s rejection in his second term demonstrates his lack of fitness for the role.

Ever since the 4th republic, Jerry John Rawlings was granted a second term, John Agyekum Kufuor was also granted two terms, and I, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, have also been granted two terms.

However, he [Mahama] was denied a second term and is now seeking another chance. We will not consider him for the presidency, neither today nor tomorrow.

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He speaks as if we are unaware of his track record. He has nothing new to bring to the table. We are familiar with his track record and he has nothing new to offer Ghanaians.

We witnessed what he did during his time in office, which resulted in his defeat in his second attempt. After realizing he was not suitable for the job, why should we vote for him now? We will not! Says the man that has the men!