As the nation prepares for the general elections in December 2024, Awake News will provide you with stories detailing events and dynamics in selected constituencies. The Kintampo South, which has highly intriguing dynamics, is where we begin.
Kintampo South is a constituency in the Bono East Region. It has been considered a safe seat for the NDC since its creation in 2004 until the 2020 general elections when the NPP won it for the first time. The reason why the NDC lost the parliamentary seat to the NPP is traced to the decision of Datiakwa Kojo Nyame to contest during the 2020 general elections as an Independent Candidate after losing the parliamentary primaries of the NDC to the incumbent Member of Parliament at the time, Felicia Adjei. His decision negatively affected the chances of the NDC chances, thus, gifting the seat to the NPP’s Alexander Gyan.
Datiakwa Kojo Nyame is a former District Chief Executive for the area between 2009 and 2016. Following his decision to contest as an Independent Candidate, the leadership of the NDC reached out to him to rescind his decision but he declined. He was subsequently dismissed from the party per its laws.
Heading into the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, the Kintampo South Constituency parliamentary seat is one of many seats that the NDC can easily win. A careful analysis of the 2020 parliamentary results against those of previous elections indicates that the NDC’s defeat in 2020 was self-inflected, and if the internal cracks that characterized the 2020 campaign of the party in the constituency are addressed; then the chances of the NPP retaining the seat are bleak.
The Data
In 2004 when the Kintampo South Constituency was created, the NDC won the parliamentary election by 56.5% of the total votes cast. In 2008, 2012, and 2016, the NDC won by 54.3%, 55.5% and 51.8% respectively. However, in 2020, the NPP won by 49.44%. Take note of the percentage difference.
In 2020:
- NPP’s Gyan Alexander won by 18,545 votes (representing 49.44%)
- NDC’s Felicia Adjei obtained 17,510 votes (representing 46.68%)
- IND Candidate Datiakwa Kojo Nyame obtained 1,452 votes (representing 3.88%)
The total of the votes obtained by the NDC and the IND candidates is 18,962 – representing 50.56%. The division occasioned by Datiakwa Kojo Nyame’s dissatisfaction helped the NPP to win the seat in 2020. Once the NDC can avoid any such problems ahead of this year’s elections, one more parliamentary seat will be secured for the party.
Felicia Adjei, NDC’s 2024 Parliamentary Candidate
Awake News can confirm from our sources in Kintampo South that the issues that led to Datiakwa Kojo Nyame’s departure have long been resolved, and he has rejoined the NDC. There will be no issue with independent candidates emerging from the NDC stock going into the 2024 elections. From our sources, the NPP on the other hand has become unpopular in the constituency due to its poor performance, with constituents believing they haven’t seen any meaningful progress since 2020. They have regretted voting for the NPP’s Alexander Gyan, as roads in the constituency are in a deplorable state, and people share drinking water with animals. Since 2020, no borehole has been provided, and toilet in the communities is also a major problem. It will be recalled that Dr. Bawumia promised at the launch of the NPP’s manifesto in October 2016 that “no village or town would have water or toilet problems in Ghana in our first two years in office.” Regrettably, no village or town in Ghana has had their toilet or water issues resolved 7 years after winning power.
Children attend school in dilapidated buildings without furniture, and there is a lack of access to decent healthcare services. The people of Kintampo South say their decision in the December 7, 2024 elections will be based on development projects and their living conditions. Since the verdict on how abysmally the NPP government has performed in Kintampo South is an open secret, one does not need a soothsayer to foretell their faith during the impending general