A Professor of Political Science at the University of Ghana (UG) Ransford Gyampo is unimpressed with the campaign strategy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the just ended Assin North Constituency by-election.
Prof. Gyampo says their strategy of hurriedly constructing roads and engaging in vote buying were insulting to the intelligence of the people. These led to their candidate’s defeat in the by-election, according to him.
“The arrogant display of vote buying, hurriedly going to construct roads, hurriedly going to commission new projects, and then when you’re quizzed, what you’re told is that these were the projects we started already implementing.”
“So it was already a programme that we were doing so we’re doing it. It’s not a matter of we using it as a vote buying mechanism. This refrain that they give to us anytime we quiz them in their attempt to buy vote is quite insulting to the intelligence of the people of Ghana,” he said on JoyFm’s Super Morning Show on Thursday.
Prof. Gyampo says it is about time politicians changed their strategies. According to him, it is a known fact that once elections are over, projects initiated for the sake of vote buying are discontinued.
Talking about other factors which caused the defeat of NPP’s Charles Opoku in the Assin North Constituency by-election, the expert explained that the NPP themselves in their campaign, marketed the opposition National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) candidate.
According to him, the NDC’s Gyakye Quayson was made overly popular as the NPP sort to capitalize on his court trial to campaign against him. This, he said fueled more sympathy towards the NDC’s candidate.
He added that the current economic situation was also a factor. In light of these factors, Prof. Gyampo expressed surprise at individuals and agencies who predicted that the NPP’s candidate would win.
According to him, the result shows that the methodologies adopted by the predictors must have been flawed.
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