A surge of opposition victories swept across Africa in 2024, with Ghana’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) delivering the latest blow to establishment power as former President John Dramani Mahama secured an unprecedented landslide win against the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Sunday. Mahama defeated Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia by an extraordinary 1.6 million votes, marking the widest margin in Ghana’s democratic history since 1992. Bawumia conceded defeat by nightfall on election day, as NDC voters filled Accra’s streets in celebration.

“We’ve not seen such a massive gap before in any elections since 1992 because Ghana elections are usually closely fought,” said Emmanuel Yeboah, researcher at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana).

The Ghanaian election result follows a pattern of ruling party defeats across the continent. In 2024, five nations – Ghana, Botswana, Mauritius, Senegal, and the self-governed region of Somaliland – saw complete transfers of power, while South Africa and Namibia recorded significant opposition gains.

Economic frustration has driven much of the change. “There’s a sense that voters want to punish parties for failure to boost economies, create jobs and fight corruption,” said Graham Hopwood, executive director of Namibia’s Institute for Public Policy Research.

In Ghana, soaring inflation, corruption allegations, and environmental damage from illegal mining contributed to the NPP’s downfall. Voter turnout reached only 60 percent, with many traditional NPP supporters staying home.

South Africa witnessed a historic shift in June when the African National Congress (ANC) lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years, forcing it into an unprecedented coalition government. The party’s support fell to 40 percent amid widespread discontent over economic decline and persistent power cuts.

Botswana delivered perhaps the most dramatic upheaval, ending the Botswana Democratic Party’s (BDP) 58-year grip on power. The opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) secured a landslide victory, reducing the BDP from 38 seats to just four in the 69-seat parliament.

These changes signal strengthening democratic institutions across much of Africa, according to experts. “Citizens are getting more enlightened by the day and are voting regardless of ethnic or religious affiliations, unlike before, Yeboah noted.

However, not all African elections reflected this democratic trend. Chad’s President Idriss Deby maintained his family’s 30-year rule with over 60 percent of votes in May, while Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame claimed 99 percent of July’s vote.

Looking ahead to 2025, when Ivory Coast and Malawi head to the polls, Yeboah offered a warning to incumbent governments: “Citizens are now too savvy – they know that any government that misbehaves has to be punished.”