Taking Bryan Acheampong to the cleaners and dismantling propaganda against Bawumia
A recent political debate has reignited discussions about the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) electoral history. Bryan Acheampong claimed that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is the first NPP flagbearer since 1996 to fail to win any constituency in over five regions. Critics, however, argue that this claim ignores past precedents within the party itself.
In 1996, John Agyekum Kufuor ran as the NPP’s presidential candidate but failed to secure a single constituency in more than five regions. Despite this setback, the party renominated him, and he went on to win the 2000 election. His victory marked a turning point for the NPP, proving that early struggles did not define long-term success.
Nana Akufo-Addo faced a similar challenge in 2012. That year, he did not win any constituencies in six regions but remained the NPP’s flagbearer. Four years later, in 2016, he won 152 constituencies and secured 169 parliamentary seats for the party. Akufo-Addo’s earlier campaigns also showed steady progress. In 2008, he won 97 constituencies, with the NPP taking 107 parliamentary seats. By 2012, his constituency wins rose to 116, while the party gained 123 seats. Kufuor, too, had built momentum—winning 127 constituencies in 2004, with the NPP securing 128 parliamentary seats. Critics of Bryan Acheampong’s argument point out that history contradicts his claim. They describe his analysis as lazy and uninformed, given that both Kufuor and Akufo-Addo had faced similar regional losses before eventually winning elections.
The NPP’s past shows that losing constituencies in multiple regions did not prevent candidates from later success. Both Kufuor and Akufo-Addo overcame early defeats to win future elections. This historical pattern suggests that regional losses alone may not determine a flagbearer’s long-term prospects.
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