The Over-Hungry Opposition: How the NDC Weaponised Every Internal Crack to Seize the Narrative
By J.A. Sarbah
(A Post-Election Reflection — Without Prejudice to Any Party’s Official Narrative)
“Opposition wins not by being perfect — but by being ready when the ruling party unravels itself.”
Ghana’s 2024 presidential election did not produce a landslide of ideas.
It produced a landslide of emotional capital — one that the NDC surfed with aggressive speed, while the NPP fumbled in silence and sabotage.
The NDC didn’t just win because it campaigned harder.
It won because it read the cracks inside the NPP — and drove wedges into every single one.
- Turning Kennedy’s Bombs into Ammunition
When Kennedy Agyapong claimed that Bawumia and the NPP administration offered him $800 million to step down, the NDC didn’t need to do opposition research.
The ruling party had handed them the bullet — and loaded the gun.
Kennedy’s rants became TikTok gold, radio hooks, WhatsApp virals.
The NDC didn’t even have to fabricate corruption allegations — Kennedy had gift-wrapped them. He seamlessly handed the NDC a campaign hamper!
- Using Alan’s Breakaway as Legitimacy Fuel
When Alan Kyerematen launched the Movement for Change, the NDC saw opportunity, not rivalry.
Rather than waste energy attacking him, they welcomed him indirectly — pushing the “unity of discontent” narrative:
That even top NPP insiders didn’t believe in Bawumia
That “true patriots” had abandoned ship
That the Northern-Muslim candidacy was “engineered”, not earned
Alan became their proxy torpedo, doing damage without wearing their colors.
- Playing The Ethnic Division Without Getting Dirty
The NDC knew it couldn’t openly attack Bawumia’s ethnicity — but it also didn’t have to.
All it needed to do was echo the sectarian whispers already coming from the disgruntled inside the NPP — and amplify them quietly:
“Can a Northerner hold the Danquah-Busia-Dombo torch?”
“He’s not a real heir to our tradition.”
“The grassroots are not feeling him.”
The NDC let NPP voices do the damage, then harvested the disillusionment.
- Attacking Bawumia’s Policy Without Offering Their Own
While Bawumia proposed bold reforms — from a new constitution to digitized government systems — the NDC didn’t try to match him with policy.
Instead, they went for optics and emotion:
“You had 8 years. Why now?”
“Is it not your government that destroyed the economy?”
“Don’t try to reinvent yourself in the 9th inning.”
They stripped him of credibility before he could convert undecided voters into believers.
- Exploiting Appointee Sabotage and Absenteeism
When ministers, MMDCEs, and CEOs refused to show up for Bawumia’s campaign, the NDC saw the perfect opening:
“Even his own people don’t support him. Why should you?”
They used absences as proof of internal rejection.
They filmed poorly attended NPP rallies and juxtaposed them with their own.
They circulated memes mocking NPP “ghost surrogates.”
They framed Bawumia as a man abandoned by his own tribe — politically and literally.
- Thuggery, Chaos, and a Weak Election Response
At the polling stations and collation centres, where the NPP needed calm and vigilance, the NDC sent waves of well-positioned agents and disorder — especially in tight battleground zones.
With no military presence, and a weakened election security force, they took advantage.
Reports of:
Ballot disruption
Unexplained power cuts
Scuffles delaying collation
Suspicious swings in key constituencies
The NDC didn’t play fair. But they played smart — and hard.
- Running on Rage, Not Readiness
The NDC didn’t win with ideas. They won with frustration, fatigue, and fire.
They channeled public anger against the NPP — and gave Ghanaians a single emotional outlet:
“Vote them out!”
The campaign was crude at times, yes. But it was unified, relentless, and brutally efficient.
CONCLUSION:
The NDC didn’t beat a united party.
They beat a wounded one.
They didn’t climb the ladder. They walked over the pieces the NPP left on the floor.
In politics, you don’t always need the best message.
You just need to arrive when the other side is bleeding.
Up Next: Post 5 of 5 — Reclaiming 2028: Lessons, Regrets & The Road to Redemption
Share this if you believe elections are not just won — they are lost through neglect, silence, and failure to read the battlefield.
