The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is a social democratic political party in Ghana, founded by Jerry Rawlings, who was Head of State of Ghana from 1981 to 1993 and the President of Ghana from 1993 to 2001. Following the formation of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), which ruled Ghana following the military coup d'état on 31 December 1981, there was pressure from the international community to restore democracy. The NDC was formed as the ruling party ahead of elections in 1992, in which Rawlings was elected president, and in 1996 Rawlings was re-elected as the NDC candidate. Rawlings' second term ended in 2001. The NDC lost the presidency in the 2000 election, and it was not until the 2008 election, that they regained it with John Atta Mills as its candidate. They established the 1992 constitution of Ghana The NDC party symbol is an umbrella with the head of a dove at the tip. The party colors are red, white, green, and black, and the party slogan or motto is "Unity, stability, and development." Internationally, the NDC is a member of the Progressive Alliance and Socialist International. On 9 December 2012, the Electoral Commission of Ghana declared NDC candidate John Dramani Mahama to be president-elect after a hotly contested race in which he won 50.7% of votes cast. History The National Democratic Congress was founded by Jerry Rawlings, who had been the military leader of Ghana since 1981. In 1992, the National Democratic Congress led the successful transition to multi-party competition, an example of authoritarian-led democratization. The NDC won the 1992 and 1996 elections. 2000 elections The 2000 election was the first presidential election since 1992 that an incumbent president was not on the ballot. Jerry Rawlings' eight-year tenure had expired as per the Constitution of Ghana. John Atta Mills became the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress at a special delegate congress held in Ho in the Volta Region of Ghana. He was popularly acclaimed the presidential candidate of the party for the 2000 presidential election. Vice-president John Atta Mills lost in 2000 to New Patriotic Party's John Kufour after two rounds of voting. 2004 elections In the 2004 elections the party's manifesto called for "A Better Ghana". John Atta Mills ran again for the NDC in the 2004 presidential elections with his running mate Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni. He won 44.6% of the vote, but lost to