If none of the 12 presidential candidates secures the required 50%+1 majority in the December 7, 2024, election, the Electoral Commission (EC) will likely organize a runoff on December 28, 2024.
This contingency aligns with Ghana’s constitutional requirement to ensure that a president is elected by an absolute majority.
A runoff election occurs when no presidential candidate secures the required majority of votes in the initial round.
The potential runoff will be a decisive face-off between the two candidates with the highest number of votes in the first round.
Regulation 44(1) of the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (C.I. 127) stipulates: “In a presidential election, the candidate who receives more than fifty percent of the total number of valid votes cast shall be declared elected as President.”
Key Regulations for a Runoff
According to Regulation 44 of C.I. 127:
If no candidate secures over 50% of the votes, a runoff is held within 21 days:
Regulation 44(2) states: “Where in a presidential election there are more than two candidates and none of the candidates obtains the percentage of votes specified in subregulation (1), the Commission shall conduct a second election within twenty-one days after the previous election.”
The two candidates with the highest votes in the first-round contest the runoff: Regulation 44(3) stipulates: “The candidates for a presidential election held under subregulation (2) shall be the two candidates who obtained the two highest number of votes at the previous election.”
In the event of a tie in the runoff, another election will be held within 21 days: Regulation 44(6) states: “If after a second presidential election the two candidates obtained an equal number of votes, despite any withdrawal, the Commission shall conduct an election within twenty-one days after the previous election and the two candidates shall be the only candidates and the same process shall, subject to any withdrawal, be continued until a President is elected.”
