NDC dominates Volta, NPP confident of more votes - Growing indications of ‘skirt and blouse’ in Ho Central

The Volta Region has been a stronghold of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) since the country returned to multi-party democracy in 1992.

At least, the results of the elections over the years point to this fact.

In 2012, the NDC won 579,298 votes in the presidential election, representing 91 per cent of the total votes cast, while the NPP secured 46,942 votes, representing 7.4 of the total votes.

Then in 2016, the NDC’s John Dramani Mahama won 493 141 votes, representing 87.6 per cent of the total votes cast in the presidential elections in the region, while the NPP’s Nana Akufo Addo gained 60,802 votes, representing 10.81 per cent of the total votes.

In 2020, Mahama swept 606,424 (84.8 per cent) of the total presidential votes, while Nana Akufo-Addo, received 101,084 votes (14.14 per cent) of the ballots.

According to the above statistics, the NPP has been making steady inroads in the Volta Region over the years, on a modest note, though the NDC has always led comfortably.

During the 2020 elections, the NPP’s John Peter Amewu made history when he won the Hohoe parliamentary seat.

2024 general election

For the 2024 general election, there are a total of 18 constituencies, 2,349 polling stations and 1,013,976 voters in the region.

Also, this year, the people of the former orphan constituency, Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi and Likpe (SALL) will exercise their franchise in the elections.

With a few days to go to the polls, the two main parties are stepping up their campaign to either maintain the status quo or make more inroads.

While the NDC is confident of sweeping most of the votes in the region, the NPP is also sure of increasing its gains in the upcoming elections.

The Volta Regional Chairman of the NDC, Mawutor Agbavitor, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that there were undisputed indications that the people of the region, just like most Ghanaians, were yearning for a change, relief from the prevailing hardships and high cost of living, and an end to the unmitigated corruption in officialdom.

Mr Agbavitor is optimistic the NDC would win close to 90 per cent of the votes in the region.

“Victory for the NDC is a foregone conclusion, and we would like to caution our opponents not to attempt any fraudulent methods to steal our votes,” Mr Agbavitor said.

The Regional Communications Director of the NPP, Perry Kwashie Nuwordu, on the other hand, has predicted his party would claim at least 20 per cent of the votes in the region and that would be a vast improvement on the performance of the party, which claimed a little over 14 per cent of the total votes cast in the region four years ago.

Most of the voters who spoke to the Daily Graphic said they had taken entrenched positions to vote for the NDC for a new order to relieve them of the destitution they were going through.
Some said they would vote for the NPP to raise Ghana to new digitalisation heights.

Skirt and blouse in Ho Central?

In the Ho Central Constituency, however, there are growing signs of ‘cross-carpet political culture’.

The NDC’s candidate is Edem Kofi Kpotosu, an educator and social commentator on a local FM radio station.

The people are familiar with his voice, and his message: ‘From apprenticeship to start-up’ is spreading widely among the electorate, giving him significant support.

On the other hand, the Ho Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Divine Bosson, who is the NPP’s candidate, is asking the electorate to assess him by his performance in the past three years and vote for him to do more for the constituency.

He is quick to point at the improved roads in the municipality, the new assembly office complex, and his support for the youth and persons with disability (PWDs) to own their businesses, as his readiness to serve the people without any form of discrimination.

Another personality, whose charisma is growing steadily in the race for the seat, is a young building technologist, Mawulorm Kwame Klutse, whose regular community engagements have endeared him to the hearts of the people.

He is running as an independent candidate and said his desire was to end the 32 years of political party division among the people and unite them for progress.

Mr Klutse observed the constituency had nothing distinctive to show after more than three decades of multiparty democracy.

He said he would bring a fresh set of ideas for job creation, especially in the agricultural sector.

His inclusion in the race is what many are predicting could end the constituency in the popular ‘skirt and blouse’ voting pattern.

A number of the people the Daily Graphic has interviewed said they wanted a young and energetic representative in Parliament, and so, Klutse was their choice in the parliamentary elections, while they could vote for Mahama or Bawumia in the presidential race.

Other people in the Ho Central Constituency have made it clear they would choose a presidential candidate from one party and a parliamentary candidate from another.

In the countdown to the elections, many are seen wearing NDC scarves with a T-shirt of Klutse’s portrait, while some wear NDC caps with a T-shirt of Klutse’s portrait. Some also go with a Bawumia cap and a Bosson T-shirt.

“We must never allow politics to divide us,’’ one Ho-based taxi driver said.

Very safe seats

Meanwhile, recent independent research carried out by the Daily Graphic in the Adaklu Constituency indicated that Mahama and the NDC’s parliamentary candidate, Governs Kwame Agbodza, would win more than 80 per cent of the votes.

Similarly, the NDC MP for Central Tongu, Alexander Hotordze, is poised to retain his seat with more than 80 per cent of the votes.

The research points to victory for the NDC MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, with close to 90 per cent of the votes.