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Writer's pictureUrban Kapital

Ghana: first female running mate for election

Former Ghana President John Mahama announced just yesterday that he had chosen Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman as his running mate for this year’s election, making her the first woman on a major Ghanaian party’s presidential ticket.


But who is she? Opoku-Agyeman, 69, is a former education minister and university professor. She became the first female vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Coast in 2008.

Former Ghana President called her “God-fearing, a distinguished scholar, a conscientious public servant and a role model” for her outstanding abilities.


Akufo-Addo and Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia were formally nominated last month by their New Patriotic Party (NPP) to contest the election.

Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang. Image credit JOHN MAHAMA, BBC News

However, the presidency has changed hands repeatedly between the NPP and Mahama’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) since 1992 in a series of peaceful elections that have cemented Ghana’s reputation as one of West Africa’s most stable democracies.


For now, it is widely known that the December 7 poll will surely pit Mahama, who governed from 2012 to early 2017, against his successor, President Nana Akufo-Addo, who defeated him in the late 2016 election.

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