An executive of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said votes in the 2020 election dropped for the party in the Ashanti Region due in part to the banking sector clean-up and the clampdown on illegal mining activities (galamsey).

The Ashanti Regional Organiser of the NPP, Francis Adomako, told Kumasi-based Luv FM that the NPP saw at least a 4-percentage point reduction in the 2020 polls.

“Some of the small-scale miners accused the team of attacking them and nothing was done by the government and party to help them,” Francis Adomako is quoted in a report published on Myjoyonline.

He also said the government failed to justify the banking sector clean-up in a way that convinced the majority of people in the region that it was important.

“Many people lost jobs and were bitter towards the party, but we couldn’t explain the decision of the President to collapse some banks and merge others to save depositors funds,” Francis Adomako said.

NPP saw a reduction in votes in the Ashanti Region, regarded as its stronghold, from 76.30 per cent in 2016 to 72.70 per cent in 2020.

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), however, gained votes as it moved from 23 per cent to 26.10 per cent.

The NPP recently held a crisis meeting to assess its performance in the just-ended election.