The Deputy National Communications Officer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Malik Basintale, says Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, outgoing Vice President and NPP presidential candidate for election 2024, had no choice but to concede defeat before the official result was declared.

According to him, Dr Bawumia was trailing by almost 2 million votes, and in light of this, he could not contest the outcome.

Speaking on JoyNews' AM Show, on Monday, December 16, Basintale drew a comparison with the 2016 elections, when President-elect John Mahama considered conceding defeat at a time Ghana was facing significant tension.

He said, “In the 2024 elections, we didn’t have those tensions, 2016 was a tough one, and let me confess, a lot of people told Mahama, ‘Don’t stroll in town.’”

He added, "The president-elect came out and said, ‘I love Ghana, I will stroll in town, let peace prevail.’”

Mr Basintale claimed that the NDC had delivered a decisive victory over the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 elections, “This time, it was a disaster for the NPP,” he said.

He noted that there was no reason for Dr Bawumia to expect a different result, as the outcome came quickly, particularly from the NDC’s strongholds. He praised the NDC election team for their efforts on election day.

"The NDC was in a very comfortable lead, so there was nothing Dr Bawumia could have held on to," Mr Basintale said, “Maybe if there was something, he could have held on to the 41%, but that would have taken him nowhere.”

Mr Basintale concluded that, based on the results, had he been Dr Bawumia, he would have advised himself not to return to continue the struggle.