General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Kodua Frimpong, has said his party has not gotten over the outcome of the 2024 parliamentary elections yet.
He says leadership of the party, as well as members, are still shocked over the results considering the way and manner the party conducted itself internally in the lead up to the polls.
According to him, aside from the fact that the party refrained from imposing candidates in the respective constituencies on the people as a result of lessons learnt from previous elections, candidates were also given the needed support from the party which they themselves can attest to.
He says it is therefore surprising that despite the unprecedented support given the candidates and party delegates making their own choices, they still lost miserably.
“We are still in disbelief; the election outcome has left us stunned,” he said on Accra-based Asempa FM Tuesday, January 14, 2024.
He said the party learnt a considerable lesson on the imposition of candidates which they intend not to repeat in subsequent internal decisions.
“We made a commitment to ensure such incidents did not recur in the 2023/2024 primaries. I believe you can attest that we conducted one of the most transparent and efficient parliamentary primaries in our party’s history, free of any controversy. Constituencies were given the full opportunity to elect their preferred candidates to lead them in the 2024 election.”
He highlighted some of the measures that were taken by the party to ensure transparency in its primaries, saying they rolled out an album validation committee to ensure transparency in the primaries.
He also explained why he avoided to speak to the media after the election, saying he was shocked over the huge loss of seats despite the measures they put in place during their primaries.
He, however, expressed optimism in the committee set up by the party to investigate the cause of their abysmal performance in the December 2024 elections.
“The committee, chaired by Prof. Mike Oquaye, will conduct a thorough investigation to uncover what truly transpired,” he stated.
He attributed the party’s poor performance to widespread apathy that had taken root within its ranks, which he claimed significantly impacted both the presidential and parliamentary outcomes.
“The level of apathy that permeated the party during the 2024 elections had a significant impact on both the presidential and parliamentary candidates.”
While the 8th Parliament saw both major parties -NPP, NDC – holding 137 seats each, with an independent MP supporting the NPP to secure a slight majority, the 9th Parliament has seen a dramatic shift.
The NDC now holds 183 seats, leaving the NPP with just 88 seats, alongside four independent MPs. One parliamentary seat remains undecided as the Electoral Commission addresses an outstanding dispute.
Content by : Felix Anim-Appau
