The campaign team of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, former Vice President of the Republic, has strongly defended his political future, brushing aside claims that his leadership has brought the party its “most unprecedented loss” and that he is unfit to lead it into the 2028 general elections.
In an emphatic response to growing public scepticism following the NPP’s performance in the last electoral contests, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, spokesperson for the Bawumia campaign, dismissed the assertion that Dr. Bawumia is solely responsible for what critics have described as a historic defeat.
Dennis Aboagye emphasised that the narrative does not reflect the actual electoral data or Ghana’s political realities.
“First of all, it’s false if anybody says it’s the most unprecedented loss in the history of the party. I mean, 41.7% is higher than 39%, and we’ve lost elections before with 39%.”
Dennis Miracles Aboagye, Campaign Spokesperson
According to him, while the 2024 election outcome may have been disappointing, it is far from being the worst performance in the party’s history and does not disqualify Dr. Bawumia from leading the NPP again in 2028.
Historical Evidence
He argued that history and electoral data in Ghana overwhelmingly support the notion that candidates who build strong foundational support in their first attempt tend to succeed in subsequent elections.
Dennis Aboagye cited several examples, beginning with former President John Agyekum Kufuor who, after securing 39% in an initial attempt, went on to win the presidency. “President Kufuor came back from 39% to win the next elections,” he noted.
Dennis Aboagye also referenced the late President John Evans Atta Mills, whose three-time campaign eventually paid off, adding that the late President earned approximately 42% of the vote in the 2000 general election, increased that to 44% in 2004, and ultimately secured victory in 2008.
“President Mills… came for the third time and won,” Dennis Aboagye pointed out, emphasising the importance of resilience and vote accumulation over time in Ghana’s multiparty democracy.
Drawing further from recent political history, Dennis Aboagye mentioned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who contested unsuccessfully in 2008 and 2012 before finally winning in 2016.
In a similar vein, he recalled President John Dramani Mahama’s crushing defeat in 2016 — which, he noted, was a record-breaking loss of over a million votes by a sitting President — yet President Mahama was able to bounce back in subsequent elections with a nearly two million-vote performance.
“These are not just anecdotes; they are hard electoral facts. The data does not support the claim that a loss disqualifies a candidate. On the contrary, what the data show is that those who have gone through the electoral process once and garnered significant votes tend to build upon that momentum in the next election.”
Dennis Miracles Aboagye, Campaign Spokesperson
Bawumia’s Strong Foundation
According to the Bawumia campaign, this empirical evidence forms the basis of their optimism. Dennis Aboagye maintained that Dr Bawumia, far from being a political liability, has established a strong foundation upon which a winning campaign can be built in 2028.
He argued that Dr. Bawumia’s baseline of support from the 2024 elections gives him a significant advantage over any future contenders who would be starting from scratch.
“If you look at the electoral history of this country, it clearly tells you that you are better off going into your next elections with a candidate that has a baseline vote in his basket than to go with one that is zero.”
Dennis Miracles Aboagye, Campaign Spokesperson
While some within the party express caution about repeating past mistakes or presenting familiar faces, the Bawumia campaign insists that consistency, perseverance, and data-backed decisions must guide the party’s forward march.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye’s comments signal the Bawumia camp’s intention to remain central in shaping the NPP’s future direction.
Their strategy hinges on both historical precedent and an unwavering belief that their candidate’s previous performance is not a verdict of failure, but a foundation for eventual success.
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