The New Patriotic Party (NPP) anticipated their defeat in the 2024 presidential election long before the polls, according to Nana Akomea, Vice Chairman of the Dr. Bawumia 2024 campaign team.
Speaking on Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV, Akomea revealed that internal party research conducted in February 2024 showed National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate John Dramani Mahama leading by a significant 10 percentage points.
“In February and March, the NDC was leading by about 10 percentage points, which was quite concerning,” Akomea said. He added that by September and October, the gap had narrowed to just 2 points, giving the party hope.
However, apathy and disgruntlement among NPP supporters ultimately impacted voter turnout.
The Electoral Commission (EC) officially declared John Mahama the winner on December 9, 2024, with 6,328,397 votes (56.55%). Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia followed with 4,657,304 votes (41.61%).
Reflecting on the results, Akomea emphasized the need for an investigation into the low turnout, noting that about 2 million voters abstained. “For a massive 2 million people to stay away, it’s really massive, and we have to find out why,” he stated.
The NPP is now focused on understanding voter apathy and other factors that led to the wide margin of defeat as it looks to regroup for future elections.