From Ken Agyapong To Mahama: Looking Back On The 2023 Winners And Losers In Ghanaian Politics
2023 was a vibrant political year in Ghana as the 2024 election cycle kicked into gear. YEN.com.gh looks back at Ghanaian politics' biggest winners and losers this past year.
Winner: Kennedy Agyapong
The Assin Central MP promised a showdown, and he delivered. Though he did not emerge victorious in the New Patriotic Party, Kennedy Agyapong shocked many by emerging as the second most attractive figure for the flagbearership.
Source: Facebook
He had been tipped as an outsider but managed to leapfrog the second favourite in the race, Alan Kyerameten. Agyapong acquitted himself well in the delegate's congress by getting over 35 percent of the vote and ensuring Mahamudu Bawumia was not the runaway choice as flagbearer.
After his massive elevation, Agyapong ended the year telling his supporters that they now controlled a third of the NPP.
Winner: John Mahama And NDC
The continued economic crisis under the New Patriotic Party government has allowed John Mahama and the National Democratic Congress to gain more favour in the eyes of Ghanaians even without a serious campaign as yet.
Source: Facebook
The addition of more corruption scandals under the Akufo-Addo government has left people reminiscing positively about life under the Mahama administration pre-2017. As things stand, most polls predict victory for Mahama in the 2024 elections.
Winner: Vice President Bawumia
Bawumia made history this year by becoming the first northerner and Muslim flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party.
He was the frontrunner in the party's flagbearer race and rode to an easy victory, amid allegations of intimidation from his opponents, to enter the record books.
Loser: Vice President Bawumia
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There is a perception that although Bawumia has made history with his flagbearership, he has only taken the reigns of a sinking ship given the low approval rating of the New Patriotic Party.
Most polls have him headed for defeat in the election. He also does not have history on his since no party has been able to hold on to power for more than eight years.
Source: Facebook
The most damaging thing for the Veep has been the blight of the economic crisis on him, given he was marketed as an economic guru. One of the most embarrassing things for Bawumia has been the resurfacing of his old quotes about the economy and how they have indicted his time in government.
Loser: President Akufo-Addo
In 2023, President Akufo-Addo was in the international limelight for the wrong reasons, as the Occupy Julorbi House movement had people recontextualising his democratic credentials.
Source: Getty Images
Several stories in international media angled Akufo-Addo as having backslidden from the perception of him being a human rights advocate and custodian of democracy after his crackdown on protesters on September 21.
Loser: Alan Kyerematen
Alan Kyerematen's bid for the NPP flagbearership did not surpass the first hurdle despite him being one of the two frontrunners. He massively underwhelmed during the special delegates congress, finishing behind Kennedy Ahyapong and Bawumia, and eventually resigned from the NPP citing grievances with the electoral process within the party.
Kyerematen is now contesting the 2024 elections as an independent candidate under the banner of the so-called movement for change.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
