Former Nhyiaeso Parliamentary Candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Richard Prah, has revealed that information he gathered from some New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters in the Ashanti Region suggested that voter apathy during the recent elections was influenced by the fact that both the NPP and NDC fielded candidates from northern Ghana.
Speaking on Kumasi-based Ultimate FM during their morning show hosted by Julius Caesar Anadem, and monitored by MyNewsGH.com, Mr. Prah disclosed that he disguised himself during the elections to interact with NPP supporters, many of whom were unaware of his identity.
According to him, some confided that they were not motivated to participate in the elections because they were dissatisfied with the choice of candidates.
“Look, sometimes people don’t openly share their true reasons for not voting,” he stated. “But let me tell you this—some people didn’t vote because they said it was two northerners contesting, and they were unwilling to vote for either of them.”
Sharing his observations, Mr. Prah recounted, “I was monitoring the elections in the Manhyia North area.
“When I arrived, I disguised myself and mingled with some NPP supporters. What I heard from them was that since two northerners were in the race, they felt uninterested in choosing either candidate.”
The former parliamentary candidate, now a leading NDC communicator, expressed concern over what he described as ethnocentric tendencies in the political process.
He emphasized that such attitudes were unhealthy for Ghana’s democracy and needed to be addressed.
“Such thinking will hurt our democracy. We need to intensify education to eliminate these prejudices. In the NDC, we have moved beyond this.
“It is the NPP that must rise to the occasion and tackle this issue. Their past utterances are catching up with them, and it’s creating challenges for them,” he warned.
The recent general elections saw low voter turnout and widespread apathy across the country, particularly in the Ashanti Region, which negatively affected the NPP’s electoral performance.
In response, the NPP’s Regional Executive, led by Chairman Antwi Boasiako—popularly known as Chairman Wontumi—has vowed to investigate the causes of the party’s poor showing in the elections.
