Ghana President Narrowly Re-Elected

Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo narrowly beat his long-time rival John Mahama to win a second term.

Hours ago, the electoral commission announced that Akufo-Addo received 51.59 percent of the vote, beating opposition leader and former president Mahama's 47.36 percent.

According to AFP, the West African country is known for its stable democracy, but tensions rose over Monday's presidential and legislative vote after Mahama claimed to have won a parliamentary majority and warned Akufo-Addo against stealing the vote.

The announcement was greeted with chanting and dancing by a crowd of supporters in the seaside capital Accra.

"Now is the time, irrespective of political affiliations, to unite, join hands and stand shoulder to shoulder," the 76-year-old president told excited supporters honking vuvuzuelas outside his Accra residence.

Mahama, 62, who has twice before lost to Akufo-Addo by a narrow margin, the last time in 2016 -- has yet to comment on the results.

The full count of the 275 parliamentary seats has not been announced and are expected to be very close between Akufo-Addo's centre-right New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Mahama's National Democratic Congress (NDC) party.

The country has recorded high levels of growth during Akufo-Addo's first term as he worked to persify an economy largely dependent on cocoa exports and more recently oil and gold.

"There could be a tendency for an incumbent, who has just secured a second term, to take it easy and relax," Akufo-Addo.

"I am of a different character. I give you my word that I will continue to work very hard to build a prosperous and progressive Ghana, for which we yearn."

Former Ghanaian president John Kufuor was one of the first to congratulate Akufo-Addo, saying on Twitter: "you deserve it."