In a post-2024 election interview, President-Elect John Dramani Mahama mentioned the ‘Azumah Principle’ as the strategy adopted by the National Democratic Congress to secure victory in the recently held elections.

Per John Mahama’s explanation, the NDC, owing to their mistrust of the Electoral Commission, went into the elections with the objective of winning by margins that would become impossible for the EC to overturn with any form of machinations.

He explained that the ‘Azumah Principle,’ as understood by the NDC, ensured that they policed the ballot papers effectively and thwarted any possible rigging by the NPP and EC through their vigilance.

Origin of the Azumah Principle

The Azumah Principle, as it has come to be known, is attributed to Ghanaian boxing icon Azumah Nelson.

On June 28, 1991, Azumah Nelson had the first of his trilogy fights with Australian boxer Jeff Fenech. The bout ended in a controversial draw, with most people claiming victory for Jeff Fenech.

Owing to the controversial nature of the first bout, a second bout was scheduled for March 1, 1992.

In one of the pre-bout interviews, Azumah Nelson stated that he was ‘going into the bout with my own referee,’ as he believed that was the only way he was going to secure victory.

What Azumah Nelson meant by that statement was that he was going to knock out Jeff Fenech and batter him to the extent that the umpire and judges would be left with no option but to declare him the winner.

Lo and behold, Azumah went into the fight and gave Jeff Fenech an eighth-round Technical Knockout (TKO) to win the fight held at the Princess Park Football in Melbourne, Australia.

Similarities between Mahama’s victory and Azumah’s victory

The NDC, as explained by Director of Elections Dr. Omane Boamah, activated all measures necessary to protect the ballots and won the 2024 elections with a margin of over 1.6 million votes and two-thirds of the seats in Parliament.

In the case of Azumah, he outpunched and floored Jeff Fenech to ensure that the bout did not extend to the final round, which would have left the decision of winner or loser to the judges and umpire.