Ghana votes in tight election amid economic slump

Ghanaians voted Wednesday in tight presidential and parliamentary polls seen as a litmus test of stability for one of Africa's most secure democracies as it wrestles with a stumbling economy and corruption scandals.

Once praised by US President Barack Obama for its peaceful transfers of power, Ghana has come under fire amid reports of voter intimidation and questions over the independence of its election agency.

Charismatic President John Mahama is running for reelection but his main rival, veteran politician Nana Akufo-Addo, has chipped away at the popularity of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) party by criticising the country's sluggish growth and high-profile corruption scandals.

Casting his vote, Akufo-Addo said it was "very important" for the election to go off smoothly and peacefully "so that Ghana continues to maintain this deserved image of being a democracy that takes its democracy seriously."

The election offered a chance for "a new direction for our country," he told reporters at a polling station in Kibi, a town 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the capital, Accra.

An exporter of gold, cocoa and oil, Ghana was once hailed as a regional growth model but has now taken on too much debt, and in 2015 had to go to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.

Mahama 'has done well for us'

"We are facing a lot of problems economically, everything is messy," said Julie Amofah, 26, who voted in Kibi. "I voted for change so we can move forward."

Shadrack Opoku, an 18-year-old high school student, said Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is the "right person for our country" who can secure future growth.

"When we complete university, we want better jobs," Opoku said. "Right now it's not good."

There are seven candidates battling for the top job -- including former first lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings -- and if the smaller parties perform well and deny either man a majority, a run-off will be held later this month.

Mahama, 58, is seeking a second term, with Akufo-Addo, 72, making his third -- and likely final -- bid for the highest office.

In the final days of the campaign, Mahama flexed his significant resources to reach as many battleground regions as possible where he inaugurated blockbuster infrastructure projects, including railways and airports.

"Mahama has done well for us," said Abudula Alhassan, a 40-year-old driver in the northern town of Bole, a government stronghold.

In contrast, Akufo-Addo blasted Ghana's poor economic growth which stood at 3.3 percent in 2016 -- the slowest rate in two decades -- and outlined detailed plans to get the economy back on track.

He also lambasted Mahama's government over a series of corruption scandals in which scores of judges have been implicated. Critics say the head of state squandered the country's commodity wealth and turned a blind eye to graft within his inner circle.

During his tenure, the Bank of Ghana controversially bought half a million dollars worth of gold Swiss watches for some of its staff.

Tight race

Akufo-Addo has also alleged that the ruling party is fomenting violence, a claim Mahama denies.

But ahead of the vote, tensions were building.

Police said an NPP supporter was beaten to death and six others were critically wounded during clashes on Monday between supporters of the two main parties following a rally in the north.

Elections in Ghana are famously close fought, with Mahama narrowly winning in 2012 with 50.7 percent.

But polls in Africa this year have been a mixed bag of surprising triumphs and sobering failures for democracy.

In Gambia, a dictator of 22 years conceded defeat, while in oil-rich Gabon the Bongo family continued its 50-year reign after a disputed election.

In Ghana, pollsters are divided after criticism of its electoral commission following the 2012 elections.

Following the last elections in 2012, Akufo-Addo -- who polled 47.7 percent of the vote -- contested the results in Ghana's constitutional court, although he was ultimately unsuccessful.

Akufo-Addo, who said previously that he would accept the results even if he loses, added recently: "Those are hurdles we have to jump once we get there."