Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a key figure in the New Patriotic Party (NPP), says the party’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, is gradually gaining momentum ahead of the December polls.
A recent survey conducted by Professor Smart Sarpong, the Director of Research and Innovation at Kumasi Technical University, shows that Bawumia is the leading presidential candidate with 38.9% preference for the 2024 general elections. John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), is slightly behind with 36.1%.
The survey reveals Bawumia’s lead in several regions including Ahafo, Ashanti, Bono, Central, Eastern, North East, Western, and Western North.
Speaking on ChannelOne TV’s “What The Papers Are Saying,” Mr Otchere-Darko noted that the survey results suggest Bawumia is gaining popularity among the base as the 2024 general elections approach.
However, he clarified that this doesn’t necessarily mean Bawumia will win the election. It simply indicates that his candidacy is gaining momentum, which could help tackle the apathy within his base.
“So, the positive aspect of this poll is it doesn’t mean that Bawumia will win the election. But I think the positive aspect is that it appears his candidacy is gaining traction. And if it’s gaining traction, it should help his base in tackling the apathy, that is there,” he said.
He pointed out that apathy is a significant challenge for an incumbent, adding that a candidate’s base will be re-energised if they believe in his potential to win.
Gabby Otchere-Darko further explained that an incumbent’s chances of winning an election largely depend on overcoming apathy, as a part of the population might be dissatisfied due to unmet expectations.
“People who voted for you, expectations in this country, like many others, are sometimes too high. So, it’s about apathy, that’s the first difficulty that an incumbent faces.
“I think that the basic antidote to apathy is your base believing that you can win. If they begin to believe that it is possible that you can win. Then they will also be re-energised.”
“If you’re an incumbent, your biggest fundamental issue will be apathy, if you’re an incumbent, its biggest issue, it is how do you energise your base? Because the opposition naturally is hungry for power. So, you expect that naturally, they will be more energised. And then when you’re an incumbent, there are those who think that maybe we haven’t benefitted and are unhappy with one or two things.
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