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%.

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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.

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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).

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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.”

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International

Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.

The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.

The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).

“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.

Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”

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International

Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.

Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.

A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”

According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.

International

Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.

Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.

“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.

“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.