The Kumasi Mayor, Sam Pyne, has alleged that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is actively fostering voter apathy in the Ashanti Region ahead of the December 2024 elections.

His remarks come in response to a report by Global InfoAnalytics, indicating a rise in voter apathy in both the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions leading up to the December 2024 elections.

According to Pyne, this trend is typical when governments have held power for two consecutive terms.

The report highlights the potential impact of the Ashanti Region's voting patterns on major parties, notably the New Patriotic Party (NPP), revealing that 23% of respondents expressed no intention to vote.

In an interview with Asaase Radio on Tuesday, April 2, Pyne attributes this apathy to the NDC's efforts to depict the ruling NPP as having neglected the Ashanti Region.

“This is a general thing if you talk about apathy in elections especially when governments have been there for two terms, some of these things are bound to happen.

"And I know when you come to the Ashanti Region, there was a concerted effort by the NDC especially to create the impression that we have done nothing for the region and they look at it that yes Ashanti Region is the vote belt of the NPP.

“They keep on deceiving people by not even talking about the Volta Region and the Northern parts of the country where they garner most of their votes and where they’ve done nothing for them.

"This propaganda has been in the system for the past three years and therefore definitely there is a possibility of it affecting people.”

However, he added that the NPP has initiated efforts to counteract this narrative.

"We, as a political party, have also started our work. We are also talking to people, letting them know, especially with the regional minister having pressers every month.”

"We take sector by sector and we talk about the good things that we have done for people. We also concentrate very much now on our communications and I know things are going to change but it is a normal thing that happens almost all the time especially when governments are in for two terms,” Mr Pyne added.