ACCRA, Ghana — John Mahama was sworn in as president of Ghana for a third time Tuesday against the backdrop of the country's worst economic crisis in a generation. Thousands of Ghanaians from all walks of life attended the ceremony in the capital.
Mahama, the opposition leader who started his political career as the communications minister, won the presidential election late last year after pledging to tackle the economic crisis, corruption and unemployment.
Mahama, 66, who was previously Ghana's president between July 2012 and January 2017, will replace current President Nana Akufo-Addo. Mahama was first sworn in as president when President John Evans Atta Mills died in July 2012. He served the rest of that term and then won an election in 2012.
Mahama promised to ''reset'' the country on various fronts during a campaign that prioritized the economy and largely appealed to young Ghanaians who saw the vote as a way out of the country's economic crisis.
''There is a seismic shift happening within the system of global economic dominance,'' he said Tuesday in his address at the Independence Square in Accra. ''Now more than ever before, we need to strengthen our ties with our neighbors to ensure that we are working together to keep our sub-region safe.''
The ceremony was attended by several African leaders, including Rwanda's Paul Kagame, Kenya's William Ruto, Congo's Felix Tshisekedi and Burkina Faso's Capt. Ibrahim Traore.
In his address, Mahama said he will focus on economic restoration and stabilization of the macroeconomic environment, as well as on good governance and the fight against corruption.
The election in December for both president and members of parliament was held against the backdrop of the country's worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation and was seen as a litmus test for democracy in a region shaken by extremist violence and coups. West Africa's regional bloc of ECOWAS said the election was generally peaceful, a continuing trend in Ghana.
