The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the outgoing ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, is reportedly “at large” as efforts by the media to trace him have failed following the 2024 elections.
Ahead of the elections, Chairman Wontumi and the NPP set an ambitious target of securing 80–85% of votes in the Ashanti Region, the party’s traditional stronghold. Similarly, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), led by Chairman Augustus Andrew Nana Kwasi, aimed to capture 30–35% of the votes in the region.
Both parties believed that strong performances in the Ashanti Region would be pivotal to securing overall electoral victory through support from other regions.
However, neither party met their targets. Notably, the NDC’s performance in the Ashanti Region exceeded expectations when the final results were announced.
Parliamentary Seats Shift
Before the 2024 elections, the NPP held a commanding majority in the Ashanti Region, controlling 43 out of 47 parliamentary seats. However, the elections saw a significant shift, with the NDC gaining three additional seats and an independent candidate winning one. The NDC’s seats increased from 4 to 7, while the NPP’s share dropped to 39.
Among the seats lost by the NPP were the Asante Akyem South Constituency, which went to independent candidate O.K. Frimpong, as well as Adansi Asokwa, Offinso North, and Ahafo Ano South East.
NDC’s Perspective on Low Voter Turnout
Speaking to GHOne TV, Richard Gakpa, a member of the NDC’s Ashanti Region election security team, attributed the overall low voter turnout to the vigilance of the NDC’s security measures. According to Gakpa, the NPP’s alleged use of “ghost voters” in the region was curtailed, leading to a lower turnout than the NPP anticipated.
“I told you that Ashanti would not record over 70% turnout in the region,” Gakpa asserted. “Are you monitoring the outcome of the elections? The NPP’s ghost voters failed to show up because we were on standby to expose them.”
Challenge to Chairman Wontumi
Mr. Gakpa also took a direct swipe at Chairman Wontumi, accusing him of being unable to deliver on his grandiose claims and calling him out for his absence post-election.
“I told you I would stop Chairman Wontumi in his own backyard. Where is he now? He’s nowhere to be found,” Gakpa remarked mockingly. “He told Ghanaians that the NPP had one (1) million ways to win elections. I’ve stopped him. The so-called political governor of the Ashanti Region is at large now. Tell him I’m still here, waiting for him.”
Gakpa further dared Chairman Wontumi to refrain from attempting to interfere with the collation of results in the region, vowing to resist any efforts to overturn the parliamentary outcomes.
The Ashanti Region’s election results have shifted the political dynamics, challenging the NPP’s dominance in its stronghold and sparking heated exchanges between political rivals.
Between 2020 and 2024 general elections, the New patriotic Party lost over 1.2 million votes in the Ashanti region.
