Ghana outgoing president Akufo-Addo has been blamed for ruling New Patriotic Party’s massive loss to the National Democratic Congress in Ghana’s 2024 general elections.
Spokesperson of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, Frank Agyekum says President Akufo-Addo is partly to be blamed due to his position as the leader of the party.
“The signs were there, and the narrative shows that things have been falling apart for a long time. We failed to heed the warnings and take corrective actions, and that’s what has led us here.
“The leader always bears the ultimate responsibility—it stops with him. When it’s good, we credit him; when it’s bad, he must share the blame,” the former presidency spokesperson said in an interview with JoyNews.
The National Democratic Congress defeated the New Patriotic Party with over 1.6 million votes in the presidential election and claimed majority parliamentary 182 out of 276 seats while the NPP secured 88 seats.
Mr Agyekum was looking matters from the angle Akufo-Addo should have used his position as president to help the party to victory by listening to economic hardship calls and connecting party’s leadership to the grassroot but said public disenchantment with the party, coupled with arrogance from some members, drove many supporters away.
He also cited the imposition of unpopular candidates on constituencies as a factor that contributed to the significant defeat at the polls, adding that these issues unfolded under President Akufo-Addo’s leadership.
Mr Agyekum also criticised the selection of candidates for both the presidency and parliamentary seats, describing the choices as less than ideal.
“There was arrogance, there was hardship in the system, and it seemed those in power failed to fully recognise the discontent. This disconnect between the leadership and the grassroots likely contributed to the significant defeat.”
At presidential level, though Bawumia was the candidate to be chosen by NPP to lead the party in the general elections but there are reports of internal deliberation to vote the Oxford-economist flagbearer of the liberal-conservative party’s November 2023 presidential primaries.
The similar ways may have been deployed in selecting the parliamentary contestants for the parliamentary election.
If Mr Agyemkum’s beliefs are anything the go by, NPP lost drastically against NDC 56.55% votes. A day after election night, NPP candidate Mahamudu Bawumia accepted defeat calling president-elect John Dramani Mahama to congratulate him.
Mahama will be sworn-in on 7th January 2025 as Ghana’s new president for the following four years.
