Ghana's opposition leader John Mahama officially won the country's election on Monday, easily defeating the ruling party candidate after voters punished the government's economic management and high living costs.

Ghana's electoral commission on Monday declared ex-president and main opposition leader John Dramani Mahama winner of Saturday's presidential election with 56.55% of the vote, according to provisional results.

John Dramani Mahama, Ghana’s incoming president, has won a chance to rewrite his legacy. He was voted out of office in 2016 by what was then the highest margin in the post-independence history of the west African nation amid corruption scandals and an energy crisis that had crippled the country.