2028 Is Coming: Is the NDC Forgetting That Ghanaians Vote Again?

I have read "NCD" as the National Democratic Congress; tell me if you meant something else.

Ghana's governments do not lose elections in the final week of a campaign. They lose them gradually, in the years when officials assume the mandate is safe. With the next general election due in December 2028, the question for the NDC is whether it is governing like a party that will be judged, or one that has forgotten the ballot box is ahead.

The record so far
Voters gave John Mahama a strong mandate in 2024 on a promise to reset the economy and deliver quickly. Two years in, independent scrutiny suggests a mixed picture. Dubawa Ghana's review of the NDC's 2024 Youth Manifesto, current as of August 14, found that the government has fulfilled or begun several promises, such as creating the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment.

It also found real gaps: unfinished E-Block senior high schools, including an abandoned project in Naro in the Upper West Region, no effective cap on advance rent, and a 24-hour economy policy that is still in the implementation phase after the bill was signed in February. The review was a response to a party claim that all youth promises had been kept, which the evidence contradicted.

The mood in the headlines
Today's front pages give a flavour of what is competing for attention: the New Crusading Guide reports a government communicator calling Ghanaians "fools" for criticising the Nkonkonkitikiti project, and the Daily Gist leads its page with the President dismissing TikTok insults as something he has a "crocodile skin" for.

It also carries an NPP charge that cocoa farmers are being cheated under the new GH¢2,650 price, and reports that the Women's Development Bank is "still missing." The Daily Searchlight reports teacher unions on strike and questions over the funding of the Army's Accra-Kumasi Expressway clearance.

I have seen only headlines and front-page summaries, and several of these are claims by political opponents. They do not prove failure. But a government that answers criticism with contempt sends the wrong signal three years before an election.

The opposition is already organising
The NPP chose Mahamudu Bawumia as flagbearer on January 31, winning 56.48 percent of the primary vote. Since then, opposition figures have sharpened their message.

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has urged supporters to keep public attention on the government's "broken promises" and has predicted the NDC will use disinformation and distractions to divert scrutiny.

Elder statesman Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu's contemporary Osafo-Maafo has said the party would be "uprooted like mushrooms" if it disappoints. These are partisan voices with their own interests, and they should be read that way.

The structural problem
President Mahama has served two elected terms, which under the Constitution means he cannot run again. The NDC must therefore win 2028 with a successor, not with the incumbent's personal appeal. That makes delivery and discipline matter more, not less. A successor cannot rely on goodwill built by someone else in the past.

A fair counter-argument
The NDC can reasonably say it is only two years into a four-year mandate, that some programmes such as Feed Ghana and the 24-hour economy take time to show results, and that inheriting a tight fiscal position limits what can be done quickly.

Fact-checks have also shown that opposition claims can be exaggerated.

What forgetting looks like
Answering criticism with insults instead of data.

Announcing programmes without publishing timelines, budgets and progress reports.

Treating grassroots grievances as noise until it is too late.

Leaving unfinished projects visible in communities where votes are decided.

The fix is not campaigning early. It is governing in a way that survives scrutiny. Ghanaians are not forgetful voters; they have removed governments of both parties before.

Whoever forgets that risks learning it again in December 2028.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,
International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. (USIP)
[email protected]
+233555275880

Sources
Dubawa Ghana: "False! NDC has not fulfilled all youth manifesto promises" (August 18, 2026)

3News: "2028 elections: NDC likely to use misinformation to distract from failed promises – Afenyo-Markin" (September 2026)

Rainbow Radio Online: "NDC will use fake news, manufactured distractions to retain power in 2028" (September 15, 2026)

HotDigitalOnline: "Bawumia jabs NDC over unfulfilled promises" (May 2026)

Adomonline: "We know NDC will fail on its promises; NPP will uproot them like mushroom in 2028 – Osafo Maafo" (July 29, 2026)

The Daily Gist, The New Crusading Guide and The Daily Searchlight, front pages, September 28, 2026