“The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time and we respect it with all humility,” Bawumia said in a news conference on Sunday.

The defeat in Saturday’s election ends two terms in power for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President Nana Akufo-Addo, marked by Ghana’s worst economic crisis in years, involving high inflation and a debt default.

Bawumia said he called Mahama, of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to congratulate him.

Earlier, NDC spokesman Sammy Gyamfi told reporters the party’s internal review of results showed Mahama won 56.3 percent of the vote against 41.3 percent for Bawumia.

“It is very clear the people of this country have voted for change,” Gyamfi said.

The vice president said Mahama won the presidency “decisively

The NDC won the parliamentary election, according to the NPP’s internal tally of votes.

Mahama, who was president of Ghana between July 2012 and January 2017, confirmed on X he had received Bawumia’s congratulatory call over his “emphatic victory”.

Blaring horns and cheering, the 65-year-old’s supporters were already gathering and celebrating outside the party campaign headquarters in the capital, Accra.