Presidential candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has urged members of the party to avoid blame games and focus on securing victory in the 2028 general elections.
His call follows the NPP’s resounding defeat in the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, which has sparked controversial reactions from some senior party members.
Addressing party supporters at his residence, Dr Bawumia cautioned members to be measured in how they process the loss, saying:
We all need to exercise restraint because we are in pain. I have an abiding belief in God, so I won’t question His ways. Sometimes we don’t understand God’s ways—they are not easily understood—but He has a better path for us. If you are in pain, don’t start blaming people. Blame games will destroy us. Let’s come together because we know it is our fault that we gave them the power.
The Vice President emphasised the need for an immediate rebuilding process for the party to prepare for the next election:
Once we are united with a goal, we are going to win in 2028. What we need is unity—stop the blame games and let’s look at the future. Let’s leave God’s ways to Him and come together. At this stage, we need to focus on rebuilding the party and not on individual ambitions.
Dr Bawumia, who contested the 2024 elections as the NPP’s presidential candidate, has officially conceded defeat and extended his congratulations to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, John Dramani Mahama.
In a media address on Sunday, 8 December, Dr Bawumia confirmed his party’s internal collation of provisional results, which aligned with Mr Mahama’s decisive victory. He noted that challenging the outcome would be unnecessary.
In a subsequent press briefing on Monday December 9, Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson Jean Mensa announced that based on results from 267 out of 276 constituencies across the 16 regions, Mahama received 6,328,397 votes (56.55%), while Dr Bawumia garnered 4,657,304 votes (41.61%). This reflects a significant margin of 1,671,093 votes.
Watch Dr Bawumia's speech below.