Accra (AFP) - Ghanaians voted in elections on Saturday with frontrunners vice president Mahamudu Bawumia of the NPP ruling party and opposition NDC party ex-president John Mahama facing off in a tight race for the country’s top post.

Ghana’s struggling economy dominated the election after the West Africa gold and cacao producer went through a debt default, high inflation and negotiations for a $3 billion IMF bailout.

Voters are choosing a successor to President Nana Akufo-Addo, who steps down after his allowed two, four-year terms, and they will also elect the country’s new parliament.

Early morning turnout appeared fairly slow in parts of the capital Accra, but steady in other neighbourhoods with the streets of the capital calm. Muslim women in colourful headscarves waited on wooden benches in the Nima district while students and shop workers to cast their ballots in middle-class Stayaways.

“We want to vote for change, the economic situation is very hard,” retired policeman James Nsiah said, waiting to cast his ballot at a booth in the Jamestown area of Accra.

Polling closes at 1700 GMT and counting will start immediately. Early results are expected on Sunday with full presidential results scheduled by Tuesday.

With a history of political stability, Ghana’s two main parties, current ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC), have alternated in power almost equally since the return to multi-party democracy in 1992.

Touting a slogan “Break the 8” – a reference to the usual two, four-year terms in power – the NPP hopes Bawumia can lead them to an unprecedented third term in office. But he struggled to break away from criticism of Akufo-Addo’s economic record.

Wearing a traditional white smock, Bawumia voted early on Saturday in his hometown of Walewale in the north of Ghana.

“I am very hopeful of winning this election,” he told reporters. “I think we have done a lot of work with our message to the people and the message has been well received.”

A UK-educated economist and former central banker, he points to an economy turning a corner and the government’s continued plans for digitalisation to ease business as well as free education and health programmes.

Ghana’s government temporarily closed all land borders on Friday night through Sunday to “ensure the integrity” of the vote, an interior ministry statement said.

One man was arrested in possession of a weapon at an Accra polling station, Ghana Police said.

- Economic frustrations -

Inflation slowed from more than 50 percent to around 23 percent, and other macro-economic indicators are stabilising after the debt restructuring and the IMF deal. But many Ghanaians still say they struggle with costs of living and scarce jobs and a depreciated cedi currency.

Frustration over the economy has opened the way for a comeback challenge from opposition candidate Mahama, who was president from 2012 to 2017 but who has since failed twice in presidential bids.

The NDC flag-bearer says he will “reset” Ghana and introduce a “24-hour economy”, extending industrial hours to create jobs and more production and also renegotiate parts of the IMF deal.

“Other elections have not been as obvious,” Mahama said voting in his northern hometown. “With this one everybody can tell the direction because of the abysmal performance of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government.”

Some analysts gave him an edge because of voter dismay with NPP economics, but the former president faced criticism from those who remember financial woes and massive power cuts during his time in office.

First-time voter and visual arts student Abdullah Mohammed, 19, said he may have benefited from Akufo-Addo’s free high school programme, but he saw the need for change with high costs weighing on families.

“I just want a good president who will bring changes. I don’t really care if it is Bawumia or Mahama,” he said in Accra’s Nima district.

Shoe saleswoman Esther Adobea said the economic situation was on her mind, but she was willing to give Bawumia a chance to make things better.

“I can see he can handle the country for us. Our economy is not good but he can do better,” she said in Ayawaso area.

Both major candidates are from the north of the country – traditionally a NDC stronghold, but now more fragmented – making the region a key battleground.

While the economy was key, Ghana also faces an increasing risk of spillover in its northern regions from jihadist conflicts in Niger and Burkina Faso, where military juntas rule after coups.

The spread of illegal gold mining also became an election issue. Akufo-Addo promised to stop illegal mining, but it has expanded, poisoning riverways and impacting cacao farmlands – a major source of export income.