Polls open in Ghana's 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections

(7 Dec 2024) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Accra, Ghana – 7 December 2024 1. Various of busy street in city centre 2. Voters lined up waiting for polls to open 3. Woman starting voting process 4. Man casting his vote 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Patricia Seyram Hagbevor, 20-year-old first-time voter: “I’m hoping for a better change and for development for our future, siblings and ourselves. Looking at the situation in this country, the inflation is high. Every day there is increases and there is change in the prices of things in the market. So, for me, I’m a student. I school at Accra Technical University. The school fees is too much for my parents.” 6. Various of Abigail Quarcoo sitting down in front of Jamestown polling station where she will vote 7. SOUNDBITE (Ga) Abigail Quarcoo, 79-year-old, voter: “I am old and I have lived my life. I am crying for the younger generation. So when Mahama wins and there is change, or even if Bawumia wins and there is change, we will accept it." 8. Various of voter Odartey Lamptey waiting to vote and voting 9. SOUNDBITE (Ga) Odartey Lamptey, 47-year-old voter: “It’s true that things are very expensive these days. It’s almost Christmas and when you ask the price of a chicken, it’s very expensive, and we can’t afford it. The same for rice and oil, and there are children in the house. You also have to buy clothes for them. So things are very expensive.” 10. Various of queue to vote 11. Various of poster in street for main opposition candidate, John Dramani Mahama STORYLINE: Ghanaians headed to the polls on Saturday morning in a presidential and parliamentary election that comes amid one of the worst economic crises in recent history. In the Jamestown neighborhood of Accra, voters lined up as polls opened at 7 a.m. (0700 GMT). Patricia Seyram Hagbevor, 20, came to a polling station in Jamestown, Accra to vote for the first time. “I’m hoping for a better change and for development for our future, siblings and ourselves," she said. "Looking at the situation in this country, the inflation is high. Every day there is increases and there is change in the prices of things in the market," she added. Former President John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is the main opposition candidate facing Mahamudu Bawumia of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). Bawumia has been vice president for the last eight years under President Nana Akufo-Addo, who was elected in 2016 amid widespread discontent with then-ruling party the NDC and after months of intense power shortages and high profile corruption scandals. Abigail Quarcoo is 79 years old. She said she is voting for Mahama, because she wants a better future for the country’s young people. “For me, I am old and I have lived my life. I am crying for the younger generation,” she said. Ghana used to be a poster child for democracy in the region. At a time when coups threatened democracy in West Africa, Ghana has emerged as a beacon of democratic stability with a history of peaceful elections. It had also been an economic powerhouse, priding itself on its economic development. But in recent years, it has struggled with a profound economic crisis, including surging inflation and a lack of jobs. Some 18.7 million people are registered to vote in the West African country. Polls will close at 5 p.m. (1700 GMT) with early results expected late on Saturday. The first official results will be released by Tuesday. =========================================================== Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/ebddde69eab946b7816a306a02bd13d5