Former Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has dismissed suggestions that religion or ethnicity played any role in the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) defeat in the 2024 general elections.
Addressing concerns that former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s religious background may have cost the NPP votes, Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said data gathered after the polls tells a different story.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View with Bernard Avle on Monday, October 6, 2025, the former Suame legislator revealed that post-election inquiries conducted by the party found no evidence to support such claims.
“The enquiry we did in the Ashanti region did not produce that; it is not one of the factors,” he explained. “In fact, those two questions, ethnicity and religion, were asked of the people everywhere in the Ashanti region, and the Oquaye committee also asked similar questions — the group of professors asked. The conclusions don’t support this at all. And yet, people are trying to inject that into that.”
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu maintained that while the NPP must reflect deeply on the causes of its defeat, attempts to attribute the outcome to Dr. Bawumia’s faith or ethnic background were unfounded and divisive.
Turning to the issue of accountability, the former Majority Leader also rejected claims that Dr. Bawumia should bear sole responsibility for the party’s electoral loss.
He acknowledged that while the former Vice President, as a key member of the administration, could not be entirely absolved, the ultimate executive authority lay with the President.
“Even though the Vice President and the President don’t share responsibility, the presidency encapsulates the two, so you cannot extricate yourself, especially when you sit in cabinet meetings,” he said.
Asked whether Dr. Bawumia’s leadership of the Economic Management Team (EMT) made him a central figure in the economic challenges that contributed to the defeat, Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu clarified that the team’s function was largely advisory.
“That is a reality,” he admitted. “But nobody should forget that executive authority is vested in one person. That is not to extricate Dr. Bawumia from every blame. The Economic Management Team he headed, their role was only advisory.”
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu’s comments add nuance to the ongoing debate within the NPP about the causes of its 2024 electoral loss — particularly over how much weight should be given to internal governance issues versus external economic pressures.
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