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Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, an influential member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), observes that the party’s presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is gaining significant traction as the December elections approach.
A recent survey by Professor Smart Sarpong, Director of Research and Innovation at Kumasi Technical University, indicates that Bawumia leads the presidential race with 38.9% support for the 2024 general elections. John Dramani Mahama, the candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), follows closely with 36.1%.
The survey highlights Bawumia’s lead across multiple regions, including Ahafo, Ashanti, Bono, Central, Eastern, North East, Western, and Western North.
During an appearance on ChannelOne TV’s “What The Papers Are Saying,” Otchere-Darko discussed the survey results, noting that they suggest Bawumia is increasing his popularity among the electorate as the elections draw near.
However, he emphasized that these results do not guarantee a win for Bawumia. Instead, they show that his candidacy is gaining momentum, which could help mitigate voter apathy within his base.
“So, the positive aspect of this poll is it doesn’t mean that Bawumia will win the election. But I think the positive aspect is that it appears his candidacy is gaining traction. And if it’s gaining traction, it should help his base in tackling the apathy that is there,” he stated.
Otchere-Darko pointed out that overcoming apathy is a significant challenge for any incumbent, noting that a candidate’s base will be more motivated if they believe in his potential to win.
“People who voted for you, expectations in this country, like many others, are sometimes too high. So, it’s about apathy, that’s the first difficulty that an incumbent faces.
“I think that the basic antidote to apathy is your base believing that you can win. If they begin to believe that it is possible that you can win, then they will also be re-energised.”
He further elaborated that an incumbent’s chances of winning are closely tied to overcoming voter apathy, as a portion of the electorate might be disillusioned due to unmet expectations.
“If you’re an incumbent, your biggest fundamental issue will be apathy. If you’re an incumbent, its biggest issue is how do you energise your base? Because the opposition naturally is hungry for power. So, you expect that naturally, they will be more energised. And then when you’re an incumbent, there are those who think that maybe we haven’t benefited and are unhappy with one or two things.”
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