The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Ashanti region says its 32% share of total votes cast in the Ashanti region in this year’s election puts it on course to break the New Patriotic Party’s monopoly of the region.

The NDC’s share of the votes in the region represents nearly 5% more votes than it got in the 2008 elections that saw the late President John Evans Atta Mills wrestling power from the then incumbent NPP.

Going into the 2012 elections, the NDC conceded that it could not overcome the NPP, on the other hand, announced a target of at least 80% of the Ashanti votes, and although both parties made increases in the total count of votes received, the NDC made a better showing proportionally.

The NPP had 1,528,830 votes while the NDC got 611,604 in the region. Speaking to The Finder, the NDC’s Ashanti Regional First Vice-Chairman, Mr Alexander Sawyer Attivor, confessed that the NPP’s flagship free SHS campaign message went down very well with the people and negatively affected the NDC’s anticipated votes in the region.

However, he was extremely happy that they still managed the margin they got. “What Ghanaians craved so much as we went into the 2012 elections was that peace be maintained. However, the NPP kept at their all-die-be-die against wide public condemnation and wise counsel from respected citizens for them to stop propagating it”.

Again, contrary to attempts by members of the NPP to create the impression that the people, so many people had immensely benefited from the numerous infrastructural projects that the NDC had undertaken, particularly in the villages, he said.

He also claimed that the calm demeanor and gentlemanliness displayed by the President during the period helped while the introduction of the biometric and verification system for voting also helped to cut out the otherwise massive multiple voting that often took place in the region.

“The figures are a true reflection of the votes in the region,” he said. It was very difficult to get any of the Ashanti Regional executives of the NPP to make a contribution to this story as they seemed engrossed in efforts to prove that indeed the elections were rigged by the NDC.

However, monitoring various local radio phone-ins, many disappointed followers of the NPP in the region made varied suggestions and accusations as to what caused the defeat of the NPP.

For instance, during last Monday’s morning show programme on Hello FM, many people who called into the programme blamed the executives of the party for not working hard enough to secure victory for the party.

Some of them suggested that some of the executives deliberately worked so that Nana Addo would not get the nod to rule Ghana because they preferred Allan Kyeremateng.

What such people suggest is that the NPP settles down quickly, smart taking stock and re-strategizing for 2016.