The Member of Parliament- elect for Ofoase Ayirebi in the Eastern Region, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has listed several reasons behind the massive loss of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Hon. Oppong Nkrumah acknowledged his party’s challenges and the lessons they need to learn to regain public trust. He noted;
“We were tracking the polling station attendance from 7AM every 30 minutes with our tracking system. And by midday, we had about 40% turnout. It gave us reason to worry- our numbers were not turning up to vote as much as we desired. And so, we had to step up our sweeping system to ensure that we could encourage many of those who were going to the farms or elsewhere to come in and to cast their vote.”
Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah Member of Parliament- elect for Ofoase Ayirebi in the Eastern Region
Despite these efforts, Hon. Oppong Nkrumah, projected an overall turnout of around 60%, falling short of expectations.
Reflecting on his electoral performance, Nkrumah expressed mixed feelings. While satisfied with his margin of victory, he acknowledged a decline in voter numbers compared to the 2020 election.
“You would find on the ground that there are about 4,000 party members who refused to vote, or there are about 4,000 sympathizers of our party who refused to vote.’’
Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah Member of Parliament- elect for Ofoase Ayirebi in the Eastern Region
This drop, he explained, was due to voter apathy, which he attributed to various factors, including dissatisfaction with the party and governance.
The MP looked into the reasons behind the apparent apathy among voters. He emphasized;
“There were people who were available in the towns or villages, some even at the polling stations who told us clearly, we won’t vote.’ Some, for example, will say, unless you give us money. Some will say, ‘We won’t vote because we are angry.’ We won’t vote because we are disappointed.’’
Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah Member of Parliament- elect for Ofoase Ayirebi in the Eastern Region
Among the Key reasons for the apathy included perceptions of poor governance. He reiterated;
“Some of the issues have to do with how we have managed our party and some of the processes that leave the general party support base feeling angry. For example, when there are primaries there’s a small electoral college and there are a lot of incentives to delegates, – it leaves the broader community angry. They [voters] explained that the cost-of-living crisis is so severe. And though they hear the explanations about the why, they voted for us as a government to fix it, and they are not impressed with how much effort we have made in fixing it.”
Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah Member of Parliament- elect for Ofoase Ayirebi in the Eastern Region
Momentum and the Wind of Change
Hon. Oppong Nkrumah acknowledged the broader political landscape as a significant factor affecting the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) performance nationwide.
“The catastrophe is the wind of change, the green wave that’s, you know, blowing across the country. And you’ll find that many of my compatriots, right from the coast up north, were suffering major damages.’’
Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah Member of Parliament- elect for Ofoase Ayirebi in the Eastern Region
Despite this, he remained optimistic about his constituency’s results. He emphasized; “In the midst of those major damages, we still managed to hold our own and did over 5,000 vote margins.’’
“The people of Ghana have sent us a very strong message. What we need to do is to embrace that message and to work with it going forward.
There were those who told us that they were just displeased about how we had handled major governance issues, like delivering on major projects or focusing on projects which they thought were unimportant or responding to accusations of nepotism and corruption.’’
Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah Member of Parliament- elect for Ofoase Ayirebi in the Eastern Region
Hon. Oppong Nkrumah also highlighted the importance of improving the party’s internal processes to ensure inclusivity and avoid alienating the grassroots.
Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah’s analysis of the 2024 elections presents a clear picture of the challenges faced by the NPP.
From voter apathy to dissatisfaction with governance, the issues raised offer critical insights for both the party and the MP as they prepare for future elections.
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