Deputy Communications Officer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ernest Owusu Bempah, has called on party leadership to rethink its decision to retain former Vice President and 2024 presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, as the flagbearer for the 2028 general elections.
Speaking on Oyerepa FM in an interview monitored by Pulse Glance on Monday, April 14, 2025, Bempah attributed the NPP’s 2024 electoral defeat to waning grassroots support for Dr. Bawumia’s candidacy. He emphasized that the base of the party expressed dissatisfaction by either abstaining from voting or defecting to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“For the first time, I met a taxi driver who is a card-carrying member of the NPP but confessed to voting for the NDC in 2024. He told me plainly: we picked the wrong candidate,” Bempah said. “Over 2.1 million NPP supporters chose not to vote because they did not believe in our presidential ticket.”
He challenged media outlets to independently verify the sentiment on the ground, suggesting a disconnect between the party’s leadership and its rank and file.
“Go out with a hidden camera. Talk to the grassroots. You’ll see for yourself—supporters simply didn’t show up at the polls. The youth, especially, have grown disillusioned. This is not mere speculation. I’ve been on the ground,” he stressed.
Bempah concluded by warning that a failure to address these concerns and refresh the party’s leadership could further alienate its support base ahead of the 2028 elections.
In response to the 2024 election outcome, the NPP has constituted a fact-finding committee chaired by former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye. The committee is tasked with evaluating the party’s performance and providing actionable recommendations as part of broader reorganisation efforts in preparation for the next electoral cycle.
NPP reorganization : Reject Dr. Bawumia as the party’s flagbearer for 2028. He is not the man of the people. – Ernest Owusu Bempah to NPP #OYEREPA pic.twitter.com/06FJRf1ZjR
— Oyerepa TV/FM (@oyerepaofficial) April 14, 2025
