A former Vice President of Ghana, Muhamadu Bawumia, says his decision to concede defeat early in the last presidential election in his country was aimed at preventing political violence.
Mr Bawumia stated this during a conference in Abuja on Monday.
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The event, tagged “Strengthening Nigeria’s Democracy: Pathway to Good Governance and Political Integrity,” was organised by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (LSD).
Mr Bawumia was the candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 7 December 2024 presidential election. He was defeated by John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
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Even before the official declaration, Mr Bawumia’s decision to concede defeat earned him an international commendation.
Speaking on the process that led to his concession speech, the former vice president said his party concluded its collation by 3:00 a.m. a day after the election and decided to give it to ease political tension.
“By 3 a.m. on Sunday, it was obvious from the data that my opponent, former President Mahama, had decisively won the election. I knew the Electoral Commission would take 48–72 hours to announce the official results.
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“I was cognisant of the tension and potential violence that could result if there was a long-drawn-out process of announcing the results.
“Indeed, the tension had begun to mount. I therefore took the decision to hold a press conference at 9 a.m. the next morning to concede the election to my opponent even before the EC had announced any collated official results.
“I was very confident that our data collation was correct. I believed that my concession within 14 hours of the close of polls was in the supreme interest of Ghana’s democracy and peace. The people had decided, and we had to respect their decision without equivocation,” he said.
Mr Bawumia stated that he was confident he would win the election based on the performance record of his party in government, but the data from the polling stations proved otherwise.
“I was confident of winning the election on 7 December based on the solid record of achievement of our government, notwithstanding the economic challenges,” he said.
Why Democracy Is Struggling in Africa — Shettima
In his speech, Vice President Kashim Shettima of Nigeria decried the decline of democracy in Africa, stating that poverty and lack of development were making people disillusioned.
He explained that the development of “non-democratic” countries makes it difficult to promote democracy to the people.
READ ALSO: Ghana’s road to rebuilding public trust starts with security reforms
“In many parts of the world, the appearance of rapidly growing economies under political stability in non-democratic countries challenges the idea that democracy has many intrinsic values that should make it the system of choice in a diverse and grossly uneven world.
“In many parts of Africa, democracy suffers setbacks owing to complex pressures, which include history and contemporary challenges like endemic poverty levels and insecurity. I would like to state here that Nigeria’s position regarding the fate of democracy in Africa, particularly in our neighbourhood, is to respect the sovereignty of peoples and encourage a return to democracy because citizens in each country desire that return,” he said.
Reforming Political System
Speaking at the conference, the Executive Director of LSD, Otive Igbuzor, said Africa must embark on political reforms and create a roadmap to “strengthen democratic systems that serve all Nigerians with integrity and accountability.”
He recommended creating a political environment “free of manipulation, imposition, and exclusion.”
Others at the event include the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last presidential election in Nigeria, Peter Obi, a former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, and others.
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