Ghana's President Akufo-Addo chosen by ruling party for poll rematch against Mahama

Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo addresses participants of the "G20 Investment Summit - German Business and the CwA Countries 2019" on the sidelines of a Compact with Africa (CwA) in Berlin , Germany on November 19, 2019. (REUTERS File Photo)

Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo addresses participants of the "G20 Investment Summit - German Business and the CwA Countries 2019" on the sidelines of a Compact with Africa (CwA) in Berlin , Germany on November 19, 2019. (REUTERS File Photo)

ACCRA, June 27 (Reuters): Ghana's ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has picked incumbent Nana Akufo-Addo as its presidential candidate in this year's election, setting up a third consecutive head-to-head battle against former president John Dramani Mahama.

 

Akufo-Addo, 76, unseated Mahama in 2016 with 53.8% of the vote, cementing the gold, and cocoa producing West African nation's reputation as a leading democracy in a region that has earned notoriety for political instability.

 

Akufo-Addo will contest the Dec. 7 poll with Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia as his running mate, the NPP said in a statement on Saturday.

 

Mahama, 61, who has been chosen by the National Democratic Congress as its candidate, defeated Akufo-Addo in the 2012 presidential race.