Ghana’s ruling party held primaries on Saturday to choose its candidate for the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for December 2024.

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia was widely seen as the frontrunner in the race.

The West African nation is grappling with severe economic difficulties, making the ongoing crisis a central focus of the election campaign leading up to the vote to succeed President Nana Akufo-Addo.

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Bawumia, a former deputy central bank governor, is considered the favored candidate to secure the New Patriotic Party (NPP) nomination, positioning him to face opposition National Democratic Congress candidate and former president John Dramani Mahama.

“I will give the NPP its best chance to win,” stated Bawumia. “I am committed to the unity of the NPP, and as the party’s flagbearer, I will bring everybody on board.”

Bawumia acknowledged that he may be more popular with grassroots supporters than with the establishment.

His primary rival, Kennedy Agyapong, expressed confidence in securing victory by appealing to his grassroots party supporters.

“We’re expecting at least 70 percent of the votes,” said his spokesman. “We are not basing our confidence on any opinion polls. We are with the grassroots.”

The results of the primaries are expected to be announced around 1600 GMT on Saturday.

Political analysts have suggested that Bawumia is in a favorable position, but he should not underestimate the challenges ahead, given the state of the country’s economy.

Ghana, a major producer of cocoa, gold, and oil, has been grappling with expanding debt and economic hardships, exacerbated by the global pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Ghana recently reached an agreement on the terms for a second payment of $600 million from its $3-billion credit deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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In response to the economic crisis, opposition protesters staged rallies in Ghana’s capital, Accra, last month, attributing the situation to policies implemented by the central bank governor.

President Akufo-Addo, who has been in office since 2017, is set to step down after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the constitution.

In the 2016 and 2020 elections, opposition candidate Mahama lost to Akufo-Addo.