The story that was...

Everyone who has followed me here knows how much I loved my Dad. When he was alive, my vote was on autopilot for the NDC. Chale, my dad would get upset if you suggested you were going to vote for the NPP. My mum just used to tease him about voting for the NPP just to hear his long tirade.

In the last 2 elections, I convinced myself that as an intellectual that I voted for the NDC because I felt change was needed after 8 years of the NPP and the NDDC needed 8 years to fulfil its promises.

I remember saying to my roommates in 2012 that I would vote for a different party after every 8 years. I guess I was not being true to myself. Perhaps I was but the situation was different in this election. The NDC had 8 years and John Mahama 4. I felt the developmental infrastructure started was going to stall with a change in government and I really needed Kasoa where I stayed for the better part of my life, 18 years to be precise to go through its needed transformation but then all the corruption scandals made me have second thoughts about voting for the NDC.

I thought about Nana Addo and his third time bid and also about his age and probably this going to be the last time he was going to run for the NPP. Samira Bawumia also blew me away.  

Now in 2016, my Dad is dead and no one is constantly badgering me on who to vote for. It was tough. My work colleagues and boss was NPP. All really nice hardworking folks. They made very good points as to why I should vote for the NPP. My new family is NPP, they said their bit. The day before election, I was pretty sure I was going to vote for the NPP and I was quite certain too that my dada was going to turn in his grave. 

On social media, what probably did me in was the consternation and condescending attitude of fellow intellects and non intellects alike when you said you were NDC. The encounters on social media were sometimes really vile. A good friend and I discussed this attitude. I told her I was going to vote for the NPP. She told me not to. Quite blatantly. Lol. Good NDC friends I knew personally were also at their worst insulting Nana Addo and the NPP. It was really despicable. It is a good thing they now have to eat their humble pie. Then there was the teeming majority who were neutral and were not saying much.

So the morning of the election, I made 5 phone calls to 5 people I trusted to be objective who had voted NDC in the previous elections. We had long conversations and in the end, I was convinced the NDC was the silent majority. 2 of them were voting NPP though and 3 were voting NDC. I decided to go with NDC. At the booth, after voting JM for NDC, I voted Agyarko for MP. I voted skirt and blouse and was happy with my choice. I was very happy even though I knew Agyarko was going to win anyway.

So when the polling station results started trickling in and NDC stalwarts started falling, I perceived that the NDC had lost. I was sad for John Mahama as a person but not the NDC as a party. Their stance after that press conference at 2am from the NPP put me off. It was obvious that the party was losing yet, they said they were in a comfortable lead and kept up with the charade the entire day (I mean, what was I expecting them to say?)  Once I accepted my candidate had lost, which I suspected might happen, I was all over the place. My husband was worried that I had become a tad too excitable but then what can I say? He married a feisty young woman :-).

I don’t know the processes that individuals go through to finally make a choice but I can confidently say that most people are socialized into who to vote for and stay there for a pretty good part of their lives. I voted skirt and blouse for the first time in my three time voting history and that for me is unprecedented. 

This is my story.