Election 2024: Bawumia claims NDC’s ownership of key media houses put NPP at a disadvantage

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has suggested that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) faced a significant communication challenge during the December 7 presidential election due to the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) dominance in key traditional media outlets.

Dr. Bawumia, addressing NPP communicators yesterday at his residence for the first time since the election, acknowledged the party’s efforts in the campaign but highlighted a media imbalance as a disadvantage in their electoral strategy.

“We dominated the NDC in social media. I mean, by far, by far, very, very clearly,” he said. “We were working against their ownership of support from key media houses. Isn’t it, you know? That put us at a disadvantage in many ways in terms of the communication field because we had a lot of these key media houses who were not on our side.”

Despite this challenge, Dr. Bawumia commended the team for their hard work and resilience. “You fought very hard at the time you had the opportunity,” he noted. “I must tell you that I’m very proud of you. Very, very, very, very proud.”

The Vice President reflected on the overall campaign and the unexpected voter turnout that ultimately influenced the results. Per the Electoral Commission’s declaration of results from 267 constituencies (excluding nine yet-to-be-declared constituencies), NDC candidate John Dramani Mahama secured 6,328,397 votes (56.55%) to Dr Bawumia’s 4,657,304 votes (41.61%).

While Dr. Bawumia did not directly blame the NDC’s media advantage for the loss, his remarks pointed to the need for the NPP to address this disparity as part of its post-election strategy. “I’ve been following the communication very closely over the campaign because I wanted to know how things were going across the space,” he said.

As the NPP moves into opposition, Dr Bawumia’s comments serve as a call to action for the party to reassess its communication framework, ensuring it can compete effectively in both traditional and digital spaces in the future.