Over 2m NPP voters in 2020 didn’t vote in 2024

Final certified presidential results released by the Electoral Commission (EC) reveal massive voter apathy within the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Over two million (2,073,283) voters who supported the NPP in the 2020 elections chose not to vote in the 2024 polls leading to their electoral defeat.

NPP vote decline from 2020 to 2024
In 2020, President Nana Akufo-Addo garnered 6.7 million (6,730,587) votes, representing 51.30% of total ballots cast.
In contrast, the NPP’s 2024 presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, secured just over 4.6 million (4,657,304) votes, a significant drop to 41.61%.
This 2 million vote drop is a clear indication of voter disengagement within the NPP’s traditional support base.

New voters fail to bolster NPP numbers
The 2024 voter roll saw an increase of 1.6 million (1,677,505) new registered voters, raising the total number of voters from 16.9 million (16,963,306) in 2020 to 18.6 million (18,640,811) in 2024.
However, these new voters did not align with the NPP, exacerbating the party’s losses.
If all 6.7 million voters who supported the NPP in 2020 had returned to vote in 2024, the party would have won the election decisively.

President-Elect Mahama’s incremental gains
President-Elect John Dramani Mahama obtained 6.2 million (6,213,182) votes in 2020, representing 47.36% of total ballots cast.
In 2024, he added 115,215 new votes, bringing his total to 6.3 million (6,328,397).
This small increase highlights that voter apathy was not exclusive to the NPP.

However, the vote difference between President-Elect Mahama and Dr Bawumia was 1.6 million (1,671,093)Some level of disengagement also impacted the NDC, suggesting that both major parties faced challenges in energizing their bases.
Deducting Mahama’s 2024 total from Akufo-Addo’s 2020 total indicates that if the NPP had retained its 2020 voter base, it would have won the election by a margin of 402,190 votes.
While Mahama gained new votes, the majority of the 1.6 million new voters did not find it compelling to vote for either candidate.

Drop in overall voter turnout
Voter turnout dropped significantly from 13.4 million (13,434,574) in 2020 to 11.4 million (11,430,531) in 2024—a difference of over two million voters (2,004,043).
This means that 7.2 million (7,210,280) registered voters, representing 39.1% of the total 18.6 million (18,640,811) registered voters for 2024, abstained from voting.
This represents only 60.9% of the total registered voters participating.
The decline in voter turnout and the apathy within the NPP base signal deeper issues for both major political parties.
For the NPP, the loss of over 2 million voters points to dissatisfaction or disillusionment among their supporters.
For the NDC, a modest gain of 115,215 votes amidst the inclusion of 1.6 million new voters suggests limited success in attracting fresh support.
Both major political parties will need to reflect on their strategies to re-engage their bases and address voter apathy to ensure greater participation in future elections.
The results of the 2024 election underscore the need for Ghana’s political leadership to address the growing disengagement among voters.