Eugene Boakye Antwi, former Member of Parliament for Subin and a key figure in the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has expressed strong disapproval of claims that the party’s defeat in the 2024 general elections was due to spiritual factors.

In an interview on UTV, monitored by Mynewsgh.com, Antwi questioned the logic behind attributing the party’s loss to non-material causes, asserting that such a perspective ignored the role of concrete political and economic factors.

“It is very unfortunate and regrettable for someone to suggest that defeat is spiritual,” Antwi said, refuting remarks made by NPP General Secretary Justine Kodua, who had earlier linked the party’s loss to spiritual forces.

“We have something called science and data; if that is what we use for politics, then where is the spirituality?” he added.

According to Antwi, political defeats are not determined in the election year alone but well before.

“We don’t lose elections in the election year, you lose elections 18 months before the election year,” he explained, highlighting that many within the NPP, including outspoken member Kennedy Agyapong, foresaw the party’s struggles as early as 2022.

Antwi pointed to several critical issues that had eroded public support for the party, particularly during the years leading up to the elections.

These included the controversial domestic debt exchange programme, which he claimed negatively impacted over 800,000 depositors, and the banking sector cleanup, which resulted in significant job losses.

Additionally, widespread dissatisfaction manifested in public protests and booing of presidential convoys, indicating discontent that was felt by the electorate.

“People also lost their jobs through the banking cleanup exercise. A lot of things happened that clearly were not spiritual,” Antwi remarked, making it clear that economic missteps, rather than mystical forces, were to blame for the NPP’s poor showing at the polls.

The former MP’s remarks come at a time when party officials are grappling with the aftermath of the 2024 election results and seeking to understand the factors that led to their defeat.

While some members, like Kodua, have sought to explain the loss through spiritual means, others, like Antwi, are urging the party to confront the practical realities of governance and election strategy in the years leading up to the vote.