As Ghana heads to the polls on December 7, 2024, the prospect of a runoff election looms if no candidate secures the required 50%+1 majority in the first round.
If this occurs, the Electoral Commission (EC) will organize a second round of voting on December 28, 2024.
According to Ghana’s constitution, a candidate must obtain an absolute majority in the first round to win the presidency. If no candidate reaches this threshold, the two candidates with the highest votes from the first round will face off in a runoff.
The legal framework for a potential runoff is laid out in the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (C.I. 127), specifically in Regulation 44. It stipulates that a second round must be held within 21 days if no candidate secures more than 50% of the votes. The two leading candidates from the initial vote will contest the runoff, with the winner being declared president.
Ghana has experienced two previous presidential runoff elections, in 2000 and 2008, which resulted in closely contested battles. Should the 2024 election proceed to a runoff, it will mark the third time in the country’s history that a second-round election will determine the presidency.
If there is a tie in the runoff, the Electoral Commission will hold yet another election within 21 days to break the deadlock and ensure the election of a president.
With 12 candidates vying for the presidency, a second-round election is a distinct possibility, and many are watching closely to see whether Ghana’s presidential race will be decided in a decisive runoff later this month.
