Former Subin MP and Deputy Minister for Works and Housing, Eugene Boakye Antwi, has described the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) loss in the 2024 general elections as more than a political setback.
For him, it was a critical wake-up call that demands a full-scale reorganisation of the party’s structure, mindset, and engagement strategy with Ghanaians.
Commenting on the issue, Boakye Antwi agreed with recent sentiments expressed by former President John Agyekum Kufuor regarding the NPP’s defeat and underscored the urgency of taking deliberate steps to reposition the party.
“I would have thought that at this critical stage, the most important thing to focus on is how to reorganise the party. 2024 was not just a political loss, it was a wake-up call, a big wake-up call to the party”
Eugene Boakye Antwi, Former Subin MP
Boakye Antwi described the election loss as a pivotal moment that should compel deep introspection within the NPP. He noted that the party had failed to adapt to the evolving needs of the electorate and had grown too rigid in its approach.
He cited systemic disconnection from the party’s base as a key contributor to the party’s defeat.
“Our messaging became disconnected from the grassroots, and our leadership culture sometimes came across as entitled,” he stated, aligning with further criticisms made by former President Kufuor in the aftermath of the loss.
According to Boakye Antwi, true reorganisation goes beyond mechanical restructuring. It involves rebuilding trust and bridging the widening gap between the party’s core and the people. “It’s also about – aligning our party with the people who built it,” he explained. “The soul of the NPP must be restored before we can go on to win.”
“Many people were born after the last time we had a coup d’état in this country, 1981. They probably don’t have any strong affinity or connection to any of the parties. They just vote based on how the cost of living and standard of living is… that’s how they decide”
Eugene Boakye Antwi, Former Subin MP
For Boakye Antwi, the modern voter is guided by the tangible realities of daily life. He emphasised that the shift in the voting base, with many citizens no longer aligning themselves with political traditions or historical affiliations should be factored into the NPP’s future plans and strategies.
Cost Of Political Disconnect
Reflecting on the party’s second term in government in 2020, he admitted that economic hardships and unpopular top-down policies like the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) damaged public confidence.
“People lost their money, their savings, their pensions, and their investments. These hurt the party.” he said. “There was a loss of goodwill”
Boakye Antwi believes these economic pains should have formed the bedrock of internal strategy reviews, yet the party has failed to learn from its own commissioned reports. He criticised the lack of clarity and engagement on the findings of the Mike Oquaye Committee, which was tasked with reviewing the party’s performance.
“We formed a committee to delve into the matters that led to the loss and the report has since been submitted to the National Executive Committee,” he said, yet acknowledged that the content remains out of reach for many within the party including himself.
“One would have thought that after the Mike Oquaye Committee report, we would have sat around the table, got a few wonks in a room to go through the report and tease out the relevant portions, the recommendations that ought to be shared by the entire party to take decisions from there – but we’ve not done that”
Eugene Boakye Antwi, Former Subin MP
Despite leaning towards its secrecy, the former MP expressed his desire for portions of the report to be released to all and sundry within the party. For him, this would adequately inform the “bold steps” of the NPP moving forward.
Eugene Boakye Antwi made a strong case for immediate, transparent reform efforts within the NPP. For him, moving forward requires bold decisions backed by real data and rooted in authentic engagement with the people.
Anything less, he suggested, would risk repeating the same errors that led to the party’s electoral collapse.
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