Politics of Monday, 23 December 2024

Source: starrfm.com.gh

NPP will probe ‘disastrous’ election defeat – Mpraeso MP

Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku

The Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku, has revealed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is setting up a committee to investigate the results of the recent elections, which have been described as disastrous for the party.

The committee’s primary goal is to conduct a thorough assessment of the situation and identify the factors that contributed to the NPP’s underperformance.

This move comes after the Electoral Commission declared John Dramani Mahama as the President-elect, with 6,328,397 votes (56.55% of valid votes cast). Mahama defeated his main rival, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia of the NPP, who garnered 4,657,304 votes (41.61%).

Speaking with Tutuwaa Danso on Starr Today, Davis Ansah Opoku expressed the party’s shock at the results, noting that this presents an opportunity to set up the committee to probe the reasons behind their loss.

“We are forming a team to investigate why we performed so poorly. It’s important that we allow for a scientific process to be followed. I’m not here to place blame; after all, we’ve lost an election.”

“It’s about service. It’s about putting yourself in front of the people and telling them, ‘I want to serve you.’ I want to continue with initiatives like Free SHS and One District, One Factory. When the people decide otherwise, you shouldn’t be overly concerned. If your true intention is to serve them, you shouldn’t take it personally. As a political party, we should not be performing below 40 percent. Therefore, we are investigating and putting together a team to understand why this performance occurred and how we can address it.”

“When you examine the results, you’ll notice that 2.1 million people who voted in 2020 chose not to vote in 2024. We need to determine where these people are. Are they located in our constituencies or strongholds? If they are, we need to take action accordingly.”

“For example, in my constituency, since election 2000, I’ve always had around 10,000 of my voters absent on election day. This time, it increased to 20,000. So, I’ve also formed a team to investigate why this happened. This should not happen in 2028. People’s right to vote must be protected, regardless of their voting preferences. As their Member of Parliament, I must do whatever it takes to encourage them to participate. I’m looking into whether accountability was low or if visibility was an issue. If it’s a messaging problem, we need to address that as well.”

“Everything has to be approached scientifically. That’s why we are allowing space for the special committee, which will be set up by the party, to make decisions.”

“I understand that on Monday, the NPP National Council is likely to meet. Once they meet, the outcome will be shared with the public.”

Opoku stated that although the party had conducted its own internal polls and anticipated a tough election, the margin of defeat was a key factor.

He also stated low voter turnout as a significant challenge.

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