The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has asked the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to be concerned about the voter apathy witnessed in the Kumawu by-election. 

Sammy Gyamfi said it can be repeated in the 2024 presidential and parliamentary polls. 

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, he insisted that this is despite the alleged NPP’s vote-buying. 

He added that the NDC appreciated its votes in the by-election as compared to their votes in the 2020 elections. 

“Clearly, our friends in the NPP must be very worried about this alarmingly high voter apathy in Kumawu which can possibly reflect in the 2024 presidential polls.

“Given the fact that Kumawu is one of the hard-line traditional strongholds of the NPP in the Ashanti region and given the unprecedented vote buying the NPP and the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government engaged in the run-up to this Kumawu by-election, the results from the Kumawu by-election is VICTORY for the great NDC. 

“There is, however, more room for improvement for the NDC,” he said. 

Ernest Yaw Anim, the New Patriotic Party’s Parliamentary candidate for the Kumawu by-election emerged victorious in Tuesday’s polls.

At the end of the by-election on May 23, 2023, Mr Anim polled 15,264 votes to beat the NDC candidate, Kwesi Amankwah, and two Independent Candidates, both of whom are called Kweku Duah.

The NDC’s Kwesi Amankwah garnered 3,723 votes while Kwaku Duah (1) had 2,478 votes with the other Kwaku Duah managing a paltry 62 votes.

Meanwhile, during the exercise, allegations of vote buying had characterised the just-ended Kumawu bye-elections which saw the NPP’s Ernest Yaw Anim win a landslide victory.

The two major political parties had taken turns accusing each other of inducing voters with gifts and cash to vote for their preferred candidates.