The National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, says the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) must be worried about the significant voter apathy it suffered in the just-ended Kumawu by-election.
He mentioned that the NDC increased its votes by 1,284, while the NPP only saw an increase of 304 votes. He also noted that despite being considered one of the NPP’s strongholds in the Ashanti region, the voter apathy in the constituency dropped marginally.
Sammy Gyamfi expressed on Facebook that the NPP’s high voter apathy could potentially have an impact on the 2024 presidential polls.
“In short, the NDC increased its votes by 1,284 while the NPP increased their votes by only 304. The NPP also suffered very high voter apathy and/or voter turnout. Clearly, our friends in the NPP must be very worried about this alarmingly high voter apathy in Kumawu which can possibly reflect in the 2024 presidential polls.
“Given the fact that Kumawu is one of the hard-line traditional strongholds of the NPP in the Ashanti Region and given the unprecedented vote buying the NPP and the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government engaged in the run-up to this Kumawu by-election, the results from the Kumawu by-election is victory for the great NDC. There is however more room for improvement for the NDC,” he asserted.
Ernest Yaw Anim, the New Patriotic Party’s parliamentary candidate for the Kumawu by-election on Tuesday, May 23, emerged as the winner in the polls.
At the end of the by-election on May 23, 2023, Mr. Anim received 15,264 votes, defeating the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Kwesi Amankwah, and two Independent Candidates, both named Kweku Duah.
Kwesi Amankwah from the NDC garnered 3,723 votes, while one of the Kwaku Duah candidates had 2,478 votes, and the other Kwaku Duah managed only 62 votes. There were accusations of vote-buying perpetrated by the NPP.
Read the full statement by Sammy Gyamfi below
Sammy Gyamfi writes:
Folks, in the 2020 general elections, the NDC Parliamentary Candidate for the Kumawu Constituency got 2,439 votes representing 8.3% of valid votes, per the Electoral Commission’s certified results.
However, in the just-ended Kumawu by-election, the results declared by the EC show that the Parliamentary Candidate for the NDC got 3,723 votes representing 17.29%. What this means in nominal terms is that, the NDC has increased its parliamentary votes by 1,284.
It is instructive to note, that in the 2020 general elections, the NPP’s Parliamentary candidate for the Kumawu Constituency had 14,960 votes representing 51.11% of valid votes, while the independent candidate from the NPP’s fold had 11,698 votes representing 39.96% of valid votes.
Interestingly, in the just-ended by-election, the NPP candidate had 15,264 votes while the independent candidate garnered only 2,478.
What this means in nominal terms is that, after all the unprecedented vote buying we witnessed in Kumawu, the NPP managed to increase their votes by a paltry 304, while about 8,000 voters who voted for the independent candidate from the NPP’s fold in 2020, decided not to vote in the by-election at all (assuming they are real human beings).
In short, the NDC increased its votes by 1,284 while the NPP increased their votes by only 304. The NPP also suffered very high voter apathy and/or voter turnout.
Clearly, our friends in the NPP must be very worried about this alarmingly high voter apathy in Kumawu which can possibly reflect in the 2024 presidential polls.
Given the fact that Kumawu is one of the hard-line traditional strongholds of the NPP in the Ashanti region and given the unprecedented vote buying the NPP and the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government engaged in the run-up to this Kumawu by-election, the results from the Kumawu by-election is VICTORY for the great NDC. There is however more room for improvement for the NDC.
Aluta Continua, Victoria Acerta.
Sammy Gyamfi Esq.
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