“Who would have thought that Mahama will come back again and be president of Ghana?” That was the rhetorical question the 2024 NPP presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, posed.
Interacting with members of the Young Executive Forum (YEF) as part of his Thank You Tour of the UK, the former Vice President said the outcome of the 2024 election stunned even the most seasoned observers of Ghanaian politics.
“Nobody would have thought that, but that is exactly what happened,” he said, shaking his head. “His fourth go at it, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, he won in 2024, like he did in 2012.”
Dr. Bawumia used the opportunity to reflect on what he called a historically rare political phenomenon: a former president returning to power after being voted out.
“Our political history suggests that it is usually very difficult for a first-time presidential candidate to win an election in Ghana. I don’t know why that is, but Ghanaians want you to come more than once.”
He traced the pattern: “John Agyekum Kufuor came back in 2000 after 1996. President John Mills tried in 2000, 2004, and then won in 2008. Nana Akufo-Addo also went three times before he won. Mahama’s win in 2012 was unusual.
“Remember, our whole strategy in 2012 was to face Mills. Then Mills passed away. May his soul rest in peace. The NDC switched to Mahama. They played funeral songs all the way to victory. We couldn’t even campaign properly, it would have looked insensitive.”
