The screams of 'Odeneho antumi Wontumi' were in vain because, when it counted, the outspoken, popular, and courageous Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) delivered on his boasts.
Chairman Wontumi (actual name 'Bernard Antwi Boasiako') was given a thin line of confidence and optimism for his prospects ahead of his re-election campaign, so much so that one of Ghana's most famous pollsters, Ben Ephson, got into it with his 'authoritative' forecast.
Ben Ephson has forecast the outcomes of certain elections in the past, particularly parliamentary elections, but he has also predicted the outcomes of many others incorrectly.
"I'm not God... People overlook the fact that I am a servant of God. I conduct research. People are naïve if they state the obvious. According to primenews.com.gh, he remarked of one of his 2020 forecasts, "I could have mentioned a hundred constituencies that were apparent."
Whether it was because God was against him this time or because his study was flawed, the pollster mispredicted the results of a vital election: the NPP Ashanti regional chairmanship contest.
Regional elections for the NPP were held:
Delegates from the National People's Party assembled in their different areas from Friday, May 27, 2022, through Sunday, May 29, 2022, to elect new regional leaders for the party.
The regional delegates meeting to elect new executives witnessed a lot of surprises as well as successes with the way the votes went, especially in certain areas where the stakes were quite high.
In the Bono East area, for example, Thomas Adu-Appiah, the incumbent regional chairman, lost his seat to Ibrahim Baba Bukari.
Thomas, who was seeking re-election, received just 78 votes, while his opponent, who ultimately won, received 151 votes.
What did Ben Ephson have to say regarding Chairman Wontumi's election chances?
About a week before the elections, pollster Ben Ephson projected that Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi), the incumbent Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti Region, would lose.
The pollster cited the issues the party is experiencing, as well as the fact that things are not going well within the party, as reasons for such a forecast.
"I believe Wontumi will be defeated. Things were not going well within the party after the first term. We're working on it because I'm writing my seventh book on elections, and part of it is on the NPP's flagbearership.
"The party being kicked out of the hired space was the final straw; they were humiliated." The NDC in the Ashanti area has teased them, saying that Wontumi claims to have tens of thousands of cedis but you haven't been able to create anything. If Wontumi wins, I'll be quite astonished."
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