Dr. Jonathan Asante Otchere
A Political analyst, Dr. Jonathan Asante Otchere says the narrow gap between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate, Kwabena Boateng, who won the just ended Ejisu by-election, and Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, the independent candidate, is a very bad omen for the NPP in the 2024 election.
The NPP retained the Ejisu parliamentary seat in the by-election held on April 30, 2024, after candidate Kwabena Boateng polled 27,782, representing 55.79%.
His closest contender, Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, a former Member of Parliament for the area who ran as an independent candidate, secured 21,536 votes, representing 43.24%.
Commenting further in an interview on Ghana Kasa on Kasapa 102.5FM Thursday, Dr. Asante Otchere said the inability of the NPP to widen the vote margin between its candidate and the independent candidate despite the well-oiled government machinery on the ground during the election shows that the party is living in dangerous times.
“The narrow gap between the winner, Kwabena Boateng and Aduomi, the Independent Candidate, is a very bad omen for the NPP in the 2024 election. I say so because this is the party’s stronghold. Again, the huge amount of money that was shared to influence voters to vote for the party is condemnable. Look at the whole government machinery that was present in Ejisu just to slug it out with the independent candidate. So, it tells you that this individual is very solid on the ground, and also that the voter apathy in Ashanti Region is real.”
The Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast added: “Ask yourself that the over 21,000 people who voted for Aduomi, where will their votes go in the December 7 general elections in terms of presidential? It was only 41.9% attendance, so we have over 50% who did not turn up to vote. The NPP is living in dangerous times.”
