Osei Kyei-Mensah (L) and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The Former Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has dismissed claims that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) 2024 flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s ethnicity and religious background contributed to the party’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
Speaking in an interview on Nhyira FM monitored by GhanaWeb on Thursday, February 27, 2025, he stated that the post-election research conducted in the Ashanti Region showed that respondents had no issues with Bawumia’s candidacy, religion, or ethnicity but rather acknowledged his hard work during the electioneering campaign.
“From the post-election research in the Ashanti Region that is one out of 16 regions in the country, the respondents did not have any problem with Bawumia’s candidacy. They did not have a problem with his religion or ethnicity. They rather affirmed the hard work he put in the campaign.
“I can firmly state that it was not because of Bawumia that the NPP lost the election ” he added.
His remarks come in the wake of a fact-finding report, which analyzed the factors behind the NPP’s electoral setback, particularly in the party’s stronghold, the Ashanti Region.
The report highlighted several challenges, including concerns about the leadership style of former President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Many respondents perceived his governance as rigid, overly centralized, and influenced by close family members.
Another key issue raised was the mode of selecting the party’s presidential, parliamentary, national, and regional executives, which some viewed as lacking inclusivity.
The research, which surveyed respondents across all 47 constituencies in the Ashanti Region—including traders, taxi and ‘trotro’ drivers, artisans, teachers, and professionals—showed that 87% of participants believed Akufo-Addo was unresponsive to public concerns, further contributing to the party’s declining support.
JKB/KA
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