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Low Voter Turnout Was a Protest Vote – Dr Asah-Asante Counters NPP Narrative on 2024 election Defeat
Political scientist Dr Kwame Asah-Asante has refuted the narrative advanced by New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia regarding the party’s loss in the 2024 general elections, arguing that low voter turnout among the party’s base amounted to a silent but deliberate protest.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Wednesday, April 23, Dr Asah-Asante responded directly to Dr Bawumia’s earlier remarks at the launch of the NPP’s ‘Thank You Tour’. In his address, Dr Bawumia attributed the party’s defeat to internal factors, particularly a lack of turnout by the party’s supporters. However, Dr Asah-Asante offered a different interpretation.
“If they’ve gone to the field to pick data and introduce what their data is saying, fine,” he said. “But I hold a different view. In political science, when you expect 20 people to vote for you, and only 10 do, the remaining 10 have protested against you. It’s a protest vote.”
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He emphasised that voter apathy in such contexts should not be misconstrued as indifference. Instead, he believes it reflects a strategic and symbolic decision by disillusioned supporters to withhold their votes, sending a clear message of dissatisfaction with the party’s leadership, policies, or performance.
“They knew very well that even if they had gone, the numbers would have increased — and yet they stayed away. That action, in itself, is a vote against you. It’s not that they didn’t vote; they voted with their absence,” he explained.
Dr Asah-Asante urged the NPP to dig deeper into the causes of the loss rather than attributing it to superficial or speculative reasons. He described the party’s drastic decline in electoral fortunes—from a massive over one-million-vote margin in previous elections to defeat—as a clear signal that must be critically examined.
“Why is it that the same group of people did not want them to stay in power? That’s the real question they should be asking,” he said.
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