The Pusiga constituency NPP – Is 2024 possible?

The Pusiga Constituency has always been a no-go area for the NPP. It was not surprising, therefore, that neither the Flagbearer nor the Running Mate visited the constituency during the 2020 electioneering campaign as it was considered a waste of resources. Unexpectedly, however, 2020 was when the party got its best results – a loss of only 63 votes against over 5,000 losses in previous elections. One would expect the 2020 results to be a wake-up call for the party at all levels to work toward snatching the seat in 2024 but the inactions of the party so far do not give a positive indication of being interested in winning the seat.

After confirming Hanan Abdul Wahab as the 2024 PC by acclamation, one would expect the constituency to be united behind an uncontested candidate, but the reality is the opposite. There are problems on the ground which require serious attention. If the PC and the executive choose to ignore those problems, they do so at the cost of losing the election. The Pusiga NPP is more disunited now than at any other time since 2004. The following are some of the causes of the disunity as picked up from grassroots party members.

Money as the Entry Strategy:

Unlike previous candidates who followed an unwritten convention of consulting key
stakeholders of the Party in the constituency prior to declaring their intention, Hana is alleged to have ignored party elders/key stakeholders and used money to “buy off” traditional and religious leaders by building palaces for chiefs and sending religious leaders to Hajj and Umrah. Most of these leaders are perceived as NDC sympathizers who would not vote for NPP themselves, let alone convince others to do so. These actions are alleged to have angered most ordinary party members, save those benefiting from cash handouts of the candidate. The angered persons are waiting to see how the Chiefs and Religious leaders will “force” them to vote for the candidate on election day. Besides, if it takes the cost of Hajj to get one vote from a Chief or Imam, then every vote deserves the same price since all votes are equal.

Fallout of the 2019 Primaries:

Supporters of the DCE have never forgiven Abdul-Karim since he defeated the DCE at the 2019 primaries. There have always been rumours about the DCE’s supporters being behind the candidate's loss in the 2020 election. This has recently gained grounds after an audio message by one Iddi, a driver at the Training College and a strong supporter of the DCE and Hanan, indicates that some Bissa Big Men, paid money to ensure Abdul-Karim lost the 2020 elections.

Apart from sympathizers of the DCE, who else would have been happy to see the Abdul-Karim lose, and even pay money for it to happen? Our guesses!!!

The DCE has at various meetings of the Bissa Community made it clear to Bissas that Abdul-Karim is a traitor and does not fight the Bissa Course because he supported a Kusasi during the DCE selection process. He has indicated that Hanan fought for him to become DCE. As a payback, he is persuading Bissas to vote for Hanan. To demonstrate his position in practical terms, he (DCE) recently led Hanan on a week tour of southern Ghana to solicit Bissa votes for Hanan. This was something he never did in 2020.

The above two situations have allegedly divided the Bissa community – the Zubeiru and AbdulKarim factions. The Abdul-Karim faction now sees the coming of Hanan to have been initiated by the DCE, especially so, when Hanan had earlier told a meeting in the constituency that he was not interested in being an MP. The question now is, will the Abdul-Karim faction of the Bissa Community vote for DCE/Hanan in these circumstances? Let us work to avert the “You did to me; I will do to you” situation.

Some Kusasis have not taken kindly to the DCE’s resentment for Abdul-Karim because they perceived him (DCE) to have instigated the coming of Hanan as an indication of his hatred of Abdul-Karim supporting their own during the DCE contest. Will such people vote for DCE/Hanna?

The Buy-out Factor:

Rumours have it that Hanan has bought off Abdul-Karim with a V8, a Pickup and some amount of money. Though these remain rumours, supporters of Abdul-Karim are livid about it and threatening him with consequences, if the rumours turn out to be true. Some of the threats include getting him to return those gifts before any way forward is agreed. Others also say that even if it is true, his withdrawal from the primaries has more than paid for them because it would have cost Hanan more to become PC if Abdul-Karim had contested the primaries. These rumours are also fueling the calls for the independent candidature of Abdul-Karim. The sooner a way is found to clear the air, the better.

Tribal Factor

Ethnicity plays a crucial role in the Pusiga elections. Three main tribes Kussasi, Bissa and Yanga/Moshie constitute 95% of the population. The Kusasis, who are in the slight majority, are traditionally NDC. The Bissa who are traditionally NPP are now divided because of the DCE’s issues with Abdul-Karim which may result in a substantial number of of Bissas not voting for Hanan and his DCE. Hanan is from the same tribe as the NDC Candidate and the NDC Chairman. At best, Hanan can only get a third of the votes of his own ethnic group. The ethnic conflict in the Bawku area would have some negative impact on an NPP candidate.

Independent Candidate

Rumours keep growing about supporters of Abdul-Karim doing everything to get him to contest as an independent candidate. They argue that Hanan had earlier indicated he was not interested in being MP for Pusiga but it took some constituents to contribute money and buy nomination forms for him to context. In the same way, whether Abdul-Karim declares his interest or not they would contribute money for him to contest as an independent candidate. They also argue that Abdul-Karim got no recognition from the party despite the historic results he got in 2020.

As such, he has nothing to lose if he resigns from the party and goes as an independent candidate. But the two know that if they peach against each other, the likelihood of both losing is almost certain – the NDC is the winner.

In conclusion, the current dynamics in Pusiga are complicated. There is no doubt that Hanan has poured so much money into the constituency, and he would have even spent more had the 2020 PC contested him at the primaries. Given the amount of money, one would have expected that the people of Pusiga would have fallen in line by now, all things being equal. But all things do not seem to be equal - there are still lots of problems. The good news however is that there is still enough time to manage these problems. Secondly, the people are not against Hanan as a person but the fact that his entry strategy was based on a show of affluence (perceived as
arrogance) and a bit of deceit. That said, Hanan and his advisors have their work cut out. They should learn from the Peace & Reconciliation Initiative of the NDC in the constituency.