Former President John Mahama plans to renegotiate the terms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout and increase local ownership of future oil and mining projects if he wins the upcoming December election.

Mahama, who served from 2012 to 2016, will challenge the ruling party's candidate, Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia, and has a strong chance of success due to the current severe economic crisis.

Having previously managed an IMF program during his presidency, Mahama, 65, believes the IMF is open to discussions and renegotiations.

"I've been in an IMF programme before when I was president, and I know that the IMF is not averse to sitting and talking and renegotiating issues," he said in an interview with Reuters.

Ghana defaulted on most of its $30 billion external debt in 2022, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, and rising global interest rates.

The country secured a $3 billion IMF bailout in May 2023 and restructured its debts, with repayments frozen until 2025. The IMF has already disbursed $1.56 billion, with an additional $360 million expected by December. Mahama plans to seek further IMF funds to aid in resuming debt repayments.

Mahama intends to amend the public finance management law to enforce a debt-to-GDP ceiling of 60-70% to prevent excessive borrowing.

Additionally, he aims to respect existing production contracts without raising taxes, instead focusing on obtaining higher royalties from future projects. "I think we are at the upper range of taxes on profit … But I do think that in some cases the level at which we locked in the royalties is low," he noted.

He also envisions higher government stakes in future projects through the Minerals Income and Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth facility.

Mahama ascended to the presidency in 2012 following the death of John Evans Atta-Mills and won his own mandate later that year.

He lost the 2016 and 2020 elections to Nana Akufo-Addo, who is stepping down after two terms. Mahama's tenure saw significant infrastructure investments but faced criticism for power shortages, economic instability, and allegations of political corruption, although he was not personally implicated. Critics argue these issues have persisted or worsened under Akufo-Addo.

Both Mahama and Bawumia hail from northern Ghana, where the NDC has traditionally been strong but where the NPP has gained ground. Abdul-Wakil Neindow, a 30-year-old who lost his construction job in 2017, expressed the frustrations of many Ghanaians at Mahama's campaign launch: "We the youth are hopeless, we don't have jobs. How to eat, pay bills and feed our families is very hard."

Ghana, known for its stable democracy and peaceful power transitions, has never seen a party win more than two consecutive terms.

The last election faced opposition accusations of government influence, which were denied. Mahama has urged his supporters to remain vigilant against vote-rigging by staying awake for 48 hours after voting.