In the fiercely contested presidential election in the West African country, opposition candidate and former President John Dramani Mahama defeated Ghana’s vice president and ruling party candidate, Mahamudu Bawumia, on Sunday.

Bawumia told reporters ahead of the formal announcement that he respects Ghanaians’ choice to vote for change. He said, “I just called His Excellency John Mahama to congratulate him as the Republic of Ghana’s president-elect.”

Around the nation, especially in Accra, the capital, celebrations erupted.

The election served as a litmus test for democracy in a region shook by coups and extremist violence, and it took place against the backdrop of the nation’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

Under outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo, the ruling New Patriotic Party, or NPP, has struggled to address the economic crisis, and Bawumia was running as its flagbearer.

Mahama’s victory is seen in light of the recent global election trend that has favored opposition parties over incumbents in South Africa, the United States, and European nations like Britain and France.

The 65-year-old Mahama presided over Ghana as president from July 2012 until January 2017.

Mahama attempted to win over young Ghanaians who regarded the election as a means of escaping the nation’s economic problems by promising to “reset” the nation on a number of fronts throughout his campaign.