Iconic Ghanaian rapper M.anifest has explained why the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost the December 7, 2024 election.
The Electoral Commission is still collating results and is expected to officially announce the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections on Monday, December 9.
Although the EC is yet to declare the official results, provisional results from the various polling stations have projected John Mahama of the NDC as the winner of the Presidential elections.
The NDC per the party’s projections has also announced their win claiming they have secured 185 seats in Parliament.
The flagbearer of the NPP Dr Bawumia has also conceded defeat and congratulated John Mahama for the NDC’s victory.
Reflecting on the reason that led to the loss of the NPP, M.anifest who was speaking to James Copnall on BBC’s Newsday on December 9, 2024, asserted that the New Patriotic Party lost power because the citizens were not pleased with the governance of the country.
In discussing how citizens will hold the new leadership accountable, M.anifest, whose real name is Kwame Ametepee Tsikata, referenced various activism incidents from the past four years.
“It’s difficult to be confident in any leadership here until you see how they operate. In our local parlance, we say ‘show working’. So ultimately, I think what happened in this election was that people were unhappy that the country was not being run but the country was being run down. So I think there is a level of accountability that we as citizens are going to hold him [John Mahama] and any other leaders to at this point.”He said
He continued, “I do think if you saw in the last administration, the youth especially took to the streets. There were protests about illegal mining and so many other things. I think Ghanaians especially the young people who are most affected, unemployment is high, twice as much in the youth in Ghana,. I think they are beginning to express their voice more frequently. We don’t wait for every four years to express that voice through votes. I do think there is a sense of everyday accountability that we are moving towards. That there is a sense of urgency that people feel,”
