Former Majority Leader and leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has admitted the party would have lost the election woefully should elections have been held in August 2024.
According to him, the party did well in the December 7, 2024 polls than it was expected.
He indicated that the support and the enthusiasm accompanying NPP campaigns were absent in the 2024 campaign period, which gave a hint of the party’s fortunes at the polls.
“I started seeing signs that the election would not be easy, but we still hoped for a better outcome. The fact that the elections were held in December allowed us to regain some support.”
“If they had been conducted in August, Dr Bawumia would have polled around 30% against John Mahama because, at that time, economic hardships were severe. However, conditions improved as we approached the elections, including the economic situation,” he said.
In the December 7, 2024 Presidential elections, the NPP’s flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia polled 4,877,611 votes (41.75%) against his key contender John Mahama of the NDC who got 6,591,790 (56.42%).
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu revealed President Akufo-Addo had been cautioned in 2017 by Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II about the dangers of allowing Ghanaians to become “hungry and angry.”
He noted that this warning was ignored, and economic struggles following COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war negatively impacted the party’s fortunes.
Additionally, perceptions of corruption, President Akufo-Addo’s leadership style – viewed as rigid and single-minded – and accusations that the government was controlled by his family further alienated voters.
There were also concerns that Dr Bawumia was too closely associated with the President and, being a Mamprusi, was linked to conflicts in the North, particularly in Bawku.
Another major concern was the perception that the Ashanti region, a traditional stronghold of the NPP, had been neglected in terms of infrastructure development.
This created a disconnect between the regional and constituency levels of the party.
Despite these challenges, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stressed that many NPP supporters were open about their grievances and indicated that they would return if the necessary changes were made.
Regarding the party’s future leadership, he stated that while former President Akufo-Addo was no longer the party leader, any potential flagbearer would need to build upon his legacy.
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