By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila
ACCRA (Reuters) - Public frustration over Ghana's economic travails, including high prices and a dearth of jobs, has dominated the run-up to Saturday's general election, which will likely test the nation's longstanding democratic credentials.
Support for outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo and his ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) party has sunk in his second term amid the West African nation's worst economic crisis in a generation, along with cost-of-living protests and turmoil in its vital cocoa and gold industries.
Indeed, the clamour for change has tipped the presidential and legislative race firmly in favour of opposition leader John Dramani Mahama and his National Democratic Congress party, polls show, though voter patience with the political process is running low.
"The country is ruined. I will vote but I don't think it will change anything," said 18-year-old high school graduate Emmanuel Kwaku Jr, who will be casting his ballot for the first time.
An October survey by pan-African research group Afrobarometer found 82% of Ghanaians felt the country was headed in the wrong direction and less than half expected change for the better in the next year.
"We have the trappings of democracy: we do the elections every four years, yet the dividends ... are low," said Abena Tekyiwaa Manuh, senior fellow of the Accra-based Centre for Democratic Governance (CDD). "That's dangerous."
Ghana's commitment to two-term limits for presidents and largely peaceful transfers of powers have increasingly made it an outlier in a region swept by coups and constitutional shenanigans in recent years.
But whoever wins the election will be under pressure to deliver on campaign promises to improve the livelihoods of citizens, or the largely youthful population could begin to wonder if democracy is overrated, said Manuh and two western diplomats.
"We see a lot of anger among the youth, a sense of hopelessness but also a sense of change. If that doesn’t happen at the elections, what will happen?" asked one of the diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"There is growing concern Ghana’s peace and democracy is fragile."
A 'TRICKY PHASE'
Twelve candidates are vying for the presidency, with Mahama and the ruling party's Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia seen as the main contenders.
Both have vowed to turn the page on economic instability since 2020 that saw inflation soar above 50%, the International Monetary Fund wade in with a $3 billion bailout, and a mass restructuring of Ghana's debts.
Polls open for the 18.7 million registered voters at 0700 GMT and close at 1700, with legislative results due by early on Monday and presidential results by Tuesday, although trends often allow the outcome to be called early.
The vote results period "is going to be a tricky phase" as tensions may rise due to low trust in institutions, including the electoral commission, said Jonas Claes, elections lead for the EU delegation in Ghana.
Mahama and his party have repeatedly questioned the commission's ability to deliver credible elections, alleging voter roll irregularities and other issues.
Bawumia and the ruling NPP say the allegations show Mahama is preparing to reject the results if they do not go his way.
"I don't think widespread violence is to be expected, but it's difficult to be 100% sure," Claes said.