NPP’s defeat was because most of their members didn’t vote – Adei.
Prof. Stephen Adei Attributes NPP's 2024 Election Loss to Apathy
Professor Stephen Adei, former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), has analyzed the reasons behind the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) defeat in the 2024 elections, attributing it primarily to voter apathy within the party’s ranks.
Speaking on Hot Issues on TV3 on Sunday, December 22, 2024, Prof. Adei argued that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) did not secure a decisive victory in the elections but rather benefitted from the NPP’s internal challenges and disenchanted supporters. He emphasized that the results reflected a pattern in Ghanaian politics, where incumbent governments lose elections due to dissatisfaction among their supporters.
Let me tell you, the NDC didn’t win the elections. It’s systematic, just like in previous elections. In Ghana, it’s always the government that loses. Mahama only got about 200,000 more votes than he did in 2020, which means that even with the natural population increase of NDC supporters, he didn’t gain much. The loss wasn’t entirely his fault but rather because many voters were disillusioned and decided not to vote, he remarked.
Prof. Adei highlighted that the key factor in the NPP’s loss was the widespread apathy among its supporters. Many party members, frustrated with the government’s handling of economic issues, chose to stay away from the polls rather than cast their votes for the party.
Much of the loss was due to NPP members saying, ‘Enough is enough.’ It shows that when people are in power, they become blind and fail to recognize how their own members feel about their performance, particularly in managing the economy, he explained.
Prof. Adei noted that President-elect John Dramani Mahama’s performance in the election, while sufficient to secure a win, was not a significant improvement over his showing in 2020. This, he argued, underscores the idea that the NDC’s victory was more a reflection of the NPP’s failings than a resounding endorsement of the opposition’s policies or leadership.
The NPP’s loss, he said, serves as a critical lesson for political parties in power to remain attuned to the concerns of their base and the broader electorate. Economic challenges, coupled with a perceived disconnect between leadership and grassroots members, played a pivotal role in shaping the outcome.
Prof. Adei’s analysis adds to the ongoing discourse on the 2024 elections, which have been characterized by significant voter disengagement and a growing call for political leaders to prioritize economic recovery and address public grievances. As the nation transitions to a new administration, the NPP’s defeat underscores the need for introspection and reform within the party.
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