The NDC parliamentary candidate for the Ayawaso West Wuogon, John Dumelo, has caused a stir on social media after pictures of his visit to an area in his constituency that was flooded over the weekend went viral.
There are similar photos of Hon. Lydia Alhassan, current MP and NPP parliamentary candidate for the area also (a little viral) but there seems to be an unfair advantage for Mr. Dumelo who by virtue of his celebrity status, commands a huge following on social media.
Maa Lydia started some good works already at the area but people are not talking about it because she doesn't have 1million followers pic.twitter.com/B1aUkVW0yW
— Maxwell A.Barclays (@BarclaysMaxwell) October 11, 2020
So far, everything being said about Dumelo is positive and that’s great for his campaign but will that translate into votes?
Ayawaso West Wuogon is a vast area and certainly not a single-issue constituency. The area boast of some of the richest people in Ghana and certainly the economy, security, infrastructure development will be key on the agenda for residents; however, the people Dumelo seems to be reaching are key to victory for the eventual winner—tech-savvy young people.
He’s gathering social momentum in a way no NDC candidate in the constituency has ever gathered and it begs the question, is he going to change any minds to vote for him in December?
How it started vs. How it’s going.
Dumelo vs. Maa Lydia pic.twitter.com/UtYoL3ztJH
— Che🇬🇭🇺🇸 (@CheEsquire) October 11, 2020
Dumelo has celebrity power but Lydia has political experience. She has caught on really quickly and covering her base but if she must win, she has to put up a more formidable social media strategy too.
On social media, Dumelo is able to exploit his large following to create viral trends while creating the impression that he cares more about the development of his constituency than Hon. Lydia.
Dumelo provided the perfect bait when authorities stopped him from dredging some gutters in his constituency. At the time, there were no floods and Hon. Lydia Alhassan probably should have taken advantage of the situation as MP for the area to get those gutters dredged.
Now that the rains are here and some residents in the constituency are being displaced by floods, Dumelo is the hero of the story and the villain becomes his opponents.
His strategy worked and now he’s being praised by Kwaku Azar and a host of others. It’s time for Hon. Lydia to act and make sure that she convinces voters to trust her vision for Ayawaso West Wuogon.
