Mark Okraku Mantey Blames Lack of Consultation for NPP’s Election Defeat

Former Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Mark Okraku Mantey, has suggested that poor consultation and strategic missteps in the 2024 New Patriotic Party (NPP) campaign may have contributed to the party’s electoral defeat.

Speaking in an interview on Peace FM, Okraku Mantey pointed out that the party’s choice of campaign songs was not thoroughly vetted, leading to the use of a profane track that he believes did not align with the image of the party’s flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

The NPP heavily used the song Makoma by award-winning musician King Paluta as part of its campaign. During rallies and events, Dr. Bawumia was often seen dancing to the popular track, which became an anthem for the party. However, Okraku Mantey argued that the song contained explicit lyrics, making it an inappropriate choice for the campaign.

“Do you know that the song we were playing, Sisifia, is profane? It is profane. This party has people like me, George Quaye, and others in the music industry. But nobody consulted us on music selection. Then we took a profane song for someone like Dr. Bawumia, look at his brand, and we made him dance to it,” he stated.

Okraku Mantey emphasized that a lack of due diligence in selecting campaign materials, including music, may have negatively impacted the party’s image. He believes that better consultation with professionals in the entertainment industry could have prevented such mistakes.

The 2024 general elections saw the NPP losing both the presidential and parliamentary contests to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). While various factors contributed to the loss, critics within the party continue to analyze missteps that may have influenced voter perception.

With the NPP now in opposition, discussions on what went wrong during the campaign are expected to shape the party’s future strategies ahead of the next election cycle.