An incumbent president running for a second term lost to the largest opposition candidate and conceded defeat before the electoral commissioner declared the opposition candidate winner. That’s what has happened in Ghana.

Before the election there were fears of political stability given the stakes. An incumbent president had never lost and neither of the major parties had lost three consecutive elections.

In the end, the latter record remained unbroken as Nana Akufo-Addo of the opposition NPP was victorious. The incumbent president, John Mahama of the NDC, failed to win a second term. The transition process is already underway and the new president will be sworn in on January 7, 2016.

The fact that the elections were conducted by a new electoral commissioner, Charlotte Osei, makes this display of political maturity even more admirable,

In an age of political instability across the world, political stability is one of the most important qualities that an investor is looking for. Ghana has shown it has that quality and I hope that yields on its debt and its currency’s exchange rate reflect that stability.