Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has attributed the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) loss in the 2024 general elections to global crises that significantly affected Ghana’s economy, notably the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Addressing party delegates at the NPP’s National Delegates Conference on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium, Afenyo-Markin noted that these crises disrupted supply chains, slowed economic growth, and increased government spending.
He added that the Russia-Ukraine conflict worsened global inflation, food shortages, and fuel price hikes. These external shocks, he said, eroded public confidence in the NPP administration.
“Yes, we lost 2024 elections and in a big way,” Afenyo-Markin admitted, adding, “But let us be clear: this was not a defeat born out of failure. It was a perfect storm of adversity that no government in the Fourth Republic has ever had.”
He cited major national and global challenges — including the banking crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine war as factors that weakened the government’s performance and public perception during the NPP’s second term.
The Effutu MP stressed that the administration still took decisive measures to stabilise the economy despite these challenges.
“From the banking crisis that threatened to collapse our financial system – which we spent billions fixing, restoring confidence and stability – to the global COVID-19 pandemic that brought the world to its knees,” he stated.
“Then came the Russia-Ukraine war, unleashing the harshest cost-of-living crisis in a generation. And through it all, we governed with a hung parliament and an opposition Speaker.”
Afenyo-Markin commended the resilience of the Nana-Addo-led government during these turbulent times, where he credited the administration with restoring financial stability, achieving strong GDP growth, building robust foreign exchange reserves, expanding road infrastructure, and implementing transformative policies such as Free SHS, 1D1F, and the digitisation of public services.
“No government in our democratic history faced this scale of compounded crisis. Yet, with Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the driving seat, we held the line,” he declared.
