NDC Campaign Lead Prof. Joshua Alabi Confident of 2024 Victory, Reflects on Party’s Resilience and Strategy

Prof. Joshua Alabi, the campaign lead for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2024 elections, has expressed strong confidence that the party was poised to win the presidential election well before the year 2024.

Reflecting on the party’s strategy and resilience, Alabi explained that after their loss in the 2020 elections, the NDC took significant steps to restructure itself, preparing to claim victory in the upcoming election.

In an interview on TV3’s Hot Issues on Sunday, December 15, 2024, Alabi shared his belief that the NDC’s path to success began with its performance in the 2020 elections. Despite losing to the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the NDC managed to narrow the gap in parliamentary seats and reduce the margin of votes in the presidential race. This, Alabi said, provided the party with a sense of optimism for the 2024 election.

“After the 2016 elections, the NDC made about 106 parliamentary seats, while the NPP secured 169. In 2020, looking at the results from both elections and the difficulty we had in pushing through our 2020 results, I was confident that with some effort, we would wrestle power back in 2024,” he stated.

Alabi also pointed to several factors that, in his view, contributed to the party’s loss in 2020. He specifically mentioned voter suppression in the party’s strongholds, including the Volta Region, as well as military interventions and restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, which hindered the NDC’s campaigning efforts.

“In 2020, there was significant voter suppression in our strongholds, particularly in the Volta Region. Military intervention was used to intimidate voters in some areas. Additionally, the COVID-19 restrictions made it difficult for us to campaign effectively. While the NPP was out campaigning, we were limited and only allowed to start campaigning around June and July,” he explained.

Turning to the NDC’s performance in the Ashanti Region in 2024, Alabi expressed pride in the party’s significant gains. With 33% of the vote in the region—its highest ever—Alabi believes this figure more accurately reflects the NDC’s true support base, especially compared to previous results of 26.5% in 2020 and 23.32% in 2016. He suggested that vote rigging in past elections may have been a factor in the party’s lower percentage in Ashanti in those years.

Alabi’s comments highlight the NDC’s renewed optimism and strategy as it looks to reclaim power in the 2024 elections, building on its improved performance and lessons learned from past electoral challenges.