ACCRA, Ghana, Dec 7,  (AP): Polls opened in presidential and legislative elections in Ghana Saturday, poised to be a litmus test for democracy in a region shaken by extremist violence and coups. Some 18.7 million people are registered to vote in the West African country hit by one of the worst economic crises in a generation. However, the two main candidates offer little hope for change for the nation.

Ghana used to be a poster child for democracy in the region. At a time when coups threatened democracy in West Africa, Ghana has emerged as a beacon of democratic stability with a history of peaceful elections. It had also been an economic powerhouse, priding itself on its economic development. But in recent years, it has struggled with a profound economic crisis, including surging inflation and a lack of jobs.

According to an opinion poll released earlier this year by Afrobarometer, a research group, 82% of Ghanaians feel their country is headed in the wrong direction Although 12 candidates are running to become Ghana’s next president, Saturday’s election - like previous ones since the return of multiparty politics in 1992 - has emerged as a two-horse race.

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia is the candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party, or NPP, which has struggled to resolve the economic crisis. He faces off against former president John Dramani Mahama, the leader of the main opposition party National Democratic Congress, or NDC. He was voted out in 2016 after failing to deliver on promises for the economy.

The NDC prides itself as a social democratic party, while the ruling NPP tags itself as leaning to the right. But in fact, analysts and voters said, the programs of their presidential candidates do not differ in a significant way. Two hundred seventy-six members of parliament will also be elected Saturday. The ruling NPP party and the main opposition NDC each have 137 members in the 275-member legislature, with one independent member who has been voting mostly along with the ruling party.