A former Health Minister under the John Mahama administration, says the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) will be hit by apathy in its strongholds come 2020, due to the failure to fulfil campaign promises since it took over political power.

Alex Segbefia said, as was the fate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 2016, the NPP would face a “huge voter apathy in its Akan-speaking Ashanti and Eastern Regions' strongholds in 2020 polls in view of their massive failure in meeting the 'skyrocketing' campaign promises”.

“Their poll fortunes will go down in Ashanti and Eastern [Regions] more than ours in 2016 because they have failed them”, he told the Ghana News Agency during the Ketu North Constituency NDC delegates’ congress to elect new executives.

The former Deputy Chief of Staff noted that NDC suffered massive defeat to the NPP in 2016 as a result of issues of jostling and struggles for position and power, which created problems, disunities and defections and weakened the party-front and fortunes in some areas.

Nana Akufo-Addo secured 53.9% of votes cast to defeat incumbent John Mahama who polled only 44.4%

According to him, the lower votes the party recorded in the Volta Region which had been a stronghold for the NDC since 1992, had nothing to do with electorate support switch but apathy.

It appeared voters there believed the opponent’s propaganda of being marginalised and neglected, but stated they had come over that deception, to make the NDC stronger there than in 2016, he said.

However, he acknowledged that those issues have been significantly dealt with and “Volta remains a stronghold of the NDC as shown at our recent Aflao unity walk, and also the level of zeal at the congress here today, indicates the yearning by all to drive the party  back to power in 2020.”

NDC Unity Walk in Aflao

“Ghanaians are frustrated with the widespread poverty, as a result of the failure of Government in meeting its promises and needs of the people, providing the yearning for an alternate regime by the NDC,” he stated, dismissing the government’s touting of success as commonplace.

Mr. Segbefia said the NDC through its Ideological Institute, is still promoting its principles of Social Democracy and the general focus of the party is to groom the young ones on its history and goals.

He said the Institute was serving its purpose of espousing its principles and ideologies, which was more beneficial to the people than the Property Owning Ideology of its main opponents, the NPP.