International
Former President Mahama won the Ghanaian presidential elections with 56.55% of the vote
The former president and leader of the Ghanaian opposition, John Dramani Mahama (2012-2017), won the presidential elections last Saturday by achieving 56.55% of the votes, according to the results published this Monday by the Electoral Commission.
Mahama, leader of the center-left Democratic National Congress (NDC), prevailed over his main rival, the country’s vice president, Mahamudu Bawumia, of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP, center-right), who won 41.61% of the vote.
At an event in the capital, Accra, the president of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, said that the results correspond to 267 of the country’s 276 electoral constituencies.
However, Mensa remarked that, even if Bawumia got all the votes in the remaining nine constituencies, that would not change the victory by an absolute majority of the former 66-year-old.
“We have carried out fair, credible, transparent and peaceful elections,” said the president, adding that participation stood at 60.9%.
Bawumia already admitted defeat in the elections on Sunday and congratulated the former president as the winner of elections marked by the country’s serious economic crisis.
“The data from our own internal compilation indicate that the former president, his excellency John Dramani Mahama, has won the elections decisively,” said the 61-year-old vice president in a message addressed to the nation.
Bawumia promised Mahama his “full support in the transition process” and indicated that the NDC has also won the parliamentary elections.
“I make this concession speech before the official announcement of the Electoral Commission to avoid more tensions and preserve the peace of our country. It is important that the global investment community continues to believe in the peaceful and democratic character of Ghana,” the vice president said.
Four-year term
About 18.7 million voters, out of a total population of about 35 million people, were called to elect the president and 276 members of the unicameral Parliament for a four-year term, in the ninth general elections since the country became a multiparty democracy in the 1990s.
The outgoing president, Nana Akufo-Addo, did not compete after completing the maximum of two terms allowed by the Constitution.
The day was generally spent in peace, with the exception of some isolated events, such as a shooting in the north of the country that caused one death and one injury by an electoral dispute.
Twelve candidates participated in the race for the presidency, but the competition really focused on Bawumia and Mahama.
Bawumia aspired to a victory with which the NPP would have achieved an unprecedented third consecutive term in the government, and to make history as Ghana’s first Muslim president.
Ghana, a major producer of gold and cocoa, is facing its worst economic crisis in years, with a very high public debt that has forced this West African country to apply for a loan of 3 billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Bawumia, an economist by profession, blamed during the election campaign the covid-19 pandemic and the effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine as causes of the slowdown in the national economy, which was “going well” before 2020.
In the campaign, Mahama, who lost the 2016 and 2020 elections to Akufo-Addo, argued that economic challenges and high unemployment – especially among young people – show that “Ghana is at a crossroads and needs a restart.”
The vote of Ghana, one of the most stable democracies on the African continent, had electoral observation missions from international organizations such as the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECEWAS).
In its preliminary report on the elections published on Monday, the AU mission concluded that “the electoral process in general was in accordance with regional and international standards, which reinforced Ghana’s democratic credentials.”
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
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