The chairman of the fact-finding committee that researched the defeat of the New Patriotic Party in the 2024 general elections in the Ashanti Region, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has stated that their findings showed that there was a caution issued by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to President Nana Akufo-Addo in 2017.
According to the former Majority Leader in Parliament and former Member of Parliament for Suame, economic conditions, which led to the defeat of President John Dramani Mahama in 2016, were also a key factor in the defeat of the NPP in 2024, just as predicted by the Asantehene.
“In 2017, when Nana Addo was voted in as president, he came to introduce himself to Otumfuo, and when he came, Otumfuo on that day said something. He said Ghanaians voted against John Mahama out of hunger and anger. He added that if the hunger and anger persisted, the same Ghanaians would base their vote on that and vote against Akufo-Addo. The economic hardship contributed to our defeat in the election,” he stated in an interview on Kumasi-based Nhyira FM.
Reading from the executive summary of the report by the fact-finding committee, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu pointed out that some factors that contributed to the NPP’s defeat, according to the findings of the report, include the process of electing party officials and candidates, general economic hardship, perceived corruption, and the leadership style of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
In the 2024 presidential race, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who was vice president to Akufo-Addo, polled 4,877,611 votes (41.75%) against the winner of the 2024 Election, John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress, who polled 6,591,790 (56.42%).
Aside from losing the presidential race, the NPP lost significantly to the NDC in the parliamentary contest.
According to some analysts, the result of the 2024 general election is a verdict of the Ghanaian population on the governance of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who served as president from 2017 to 2025.
GA/AE
Sankofa Series: Facts about the predominantly Ghanaian Muslim festival that celebrates virgins
TWI NEWS