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After hugely investing the taxpayers' monies in its overly ambitious target of securing 1 million votes from the Ashanti region in the just-ended election, the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress did not only fail miserably to achieve the target, but the result saw an end to its rigging machination in the region.

The party in the 2012 elections recorded 612,616 votes, which represented 28.35% of the valid votes cast. But in Wednesday’s elections, it could manage only 498,507 votes, with a vote slash of 114,109 votes.

Observers say the ruling party's poor showing in the Ashanti region was as a result of its inability to successfully execute a rigging plan, owing to the vigilance of the NPP at the various polling stations.

With a percentage increase of five, the NPP, on the other hand, made a significant progress in its political 'World Bank, adding 78, 015 popular votes to what it managed in 2012.

While the NPP was able to maintain its 44 parliamentary seats, out of 47 in the Ashanti region, including the reclaiming the Ahafo Ano constituency seat from the NDC, the outgoing government also managed three seats: the Asawase, Sekyere Afram Planes and Ejura Sekyeredumase constituencies.

For the first time in its political history, the NDC failed to hold on to the New Edubiase seat, relinquishing it to NPP's George Oduro. He won the seat with with a slim margin, but the NPP was able to close the over 3, 000 votes deficits between it and the NDC.

For the Asawase constituency, the NPP made a very significant jump, hugely closing the gap on the 2012 votes garnered by Mohammed Muntaka of the ruling party.

In the 2012 Parliamentary election in the Asawase constituency, the NPP trailed the NDC by 4,822 votes. The NDC candidate went to Parliament in 2012 with 43,917 votes as against the NPP's 31, 013.

However, in 2016, due to vigilance from the NPP, and the diminishing popularity of the NDC and its candidate, Mohammed Muntaka, its votes reduced to 39,095, whereas the votes of the NPP's candidate, Alhaji Alidu Seidu, appreciated by 2459: from 31,013 to 33,490 votes.

Even in areas where the NPP lost, it managed to increase its votes, while the NDC rather lost some appreciable level of votes.

For instance, in all the Zongo communities, the NPP increased its votes within the range of 450 to 5000 votes while that of the NDC saw a downturn of similar margins.

According to Kwame Osei Prempeh, former deputy minister of Justice and Attorney General, he was expecting such voting trend because "it was very obvious the NDC prior to this election had totally lost touch with his people."

In the estimation of the former Member of Parliament for the Nsuta-Kwamang-Beposo constituency, "people are wise and intelligent to see through what policy is best for them at a particular point in time."

He further noted that the fall of the NDC in areas which were hitherto its strongholds should be enough to inform politicians that the days where voters were gullible are over.