Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been sworn-in as Ghana’s 5th President of the 4th Republic, after winning the recently held Presidential elections in December, 2016.
Taking the presidential oath of office and oath of allegiance, Nana Akufo Addo said : “I Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, having been elected to the high office of President of the Republic of Ghana do (in the name of the Almighty God swear) (solemnly affirm) that I will be faithful and true to the Republic of Ghana; that I will at all times preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana; and that I dedicate myself to the service and well-being of the people of the Republic of Ghana and to do right to all manner of persons.
Akufo-Addo thwarted John Mahama’s plan of serving a second term beating him to secure 53.85% of the total valid votes cast, against Mahama’s 44.4%.
Akufo-Addo’s victory was described as historic in many ways, as it was the first time a sitting President was beaten in an election, and also the first time a total vote difference of more than 1 million was recorded, between the winner and his closest opponent in an election in Ghana.
Many analysts who sought to explain Akufo-Addo’s victory attributed it to factors that include the general trend of public disaffection for sitting governments that have served 8 years in government, impunity and the perception of massive corruption in the NDC government among other things.
72-year-old Akufo-Addo, a lawyer, had earlier made two unsuccessful attempts at the presidency.
He contested the NDC’s John Evans Atta-Mills in 2008 but lost. He again failed on his second attempt in 2012 against the NDC’s candidate John Mahama.
