Ghanaian Parliament In Deadlock As Final Result Shows 137-137 Split

Ghana's electoral commission has released its final results for the general election that took place on 7 December, and the outlook presents a very difficult legislative environment for newly re-elected President Nana Akufo-Addo. The Ghanaian Parliament is split 137-137 between Akufo-Addo's centre-right New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the centre-left National Democratic Congress (NDC) of the defeated presidential candidate John Mahama, with one independent MP, Andrew Asiamah Amoako in the also elected.

• As such the independent MP carries an extraordinary amount of power in terms of determining the ability of the gov't to pass legislation as long as MPs vote along party lines.
• Up until this election, Asiamah Amoako had represented the Fomena constituency in the southern Ashanti region for the NPP. However, after losing the NPP primary he sought to contest the election anyway and was expelled from the party, but went onto beat the official NPP and NDC candidates anyway.
• The huge leverage that he now carries could result in his re-admittance to the party in order to ensure a parliamentary majority for Akufo-Addo's NPP.
• John Mahama has refused to acknowledge the election result, and violence broke out with five killed on election day. With Ghana being a major gold and cocoa producer, political instability could have a notable impact on production of both commodities going forward.