Ghanaian movie star John Dumelo has clinched a decisive victory in the Ayawaso West Wuogon parliamentary elections, unseating incumbent Lydia Alhassan of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Ghana News Agency reports that Dumelo, who has starred in Nollywood films, ran under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) banner and secured 40,561 votes, surpassing Alhassan’s 27,377.
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This marked a significant turnaround from his narrow defeat in the 2020 elections.
Independent candidate Abdul Rauf Abugri Mumuni managed just 189 votes. There were 68,127 valid votes, with 257 ballots rejected, for a total of 68,384 votes cast.
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The 40-year-old movie star’s electoral performance represented a substantial improvement from 2020, with his vote count increasing by 3,083. Meanwhile, Alhassan experienced a dramatic decline, receiving 12,474 fewer votes than her previous tally.
Call for change
In his acceptance speech, the actor-cum politician expressed gratitude to his constituents and highlighted the electorate’s demand for accountability and progress.
“Ghanaians have called for change, and they’ve demonstrated that if you don’t deliver or if arrogance creeps in, the people will vote you out,” he remarked.
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He continued, “This is a lesson for all leaders: governance isn’t about wealth but about addressing the development needs of the people. I am committed to working tirelessly over the next four years to drive meaningful change and steer Ghana in the right direction.”
Historical Win
In a Facebook post, he wrote, “We made history with 13,000 gaps. Thank you, Ayawaso West!!!!”
Ghana News Agency reports that the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency, established in 1992, is one of Accra’s oldest and most affluent electoral areas. It encompasses East Legon, the Airport Residential Area, and parts of Roman Ridge.
Historically dominated by the NPP, this victory marks only the NDC’s third time winning the seat. The 2024 elections featured 18.8 million registered voters and 801 parliamentary candidates.
The presidency also saw competition between John Dramani Mahama of the NDC and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of the NPP. Mr Mahama emerged victorious in the presidential race, aligning with Dumelo’s success in the parliamentary elections.
Dumelo’s journey to political prominence builds on a successful entertainment career. He debuted as a child actor in Baby Thief (1991) and rose to fame through films like The King is Mine, The Game, Black Men Rock, and One Night in Vegas.
His talent has earned him multiple accolades, including Best Actor in a Leading Role nominations at the 2010 Best of Nollywood Awards and Most Promising Actor at the Africa Movie Academy Awards. In 2013, he won Best Actor at the Ghana Movie Awards for his role in A Northern Affair. This film also garnered him the Best Actor West Africa award at the 2017 Panafrican Film and Television Festival.
As a trailblazer in social media, he became the first Ghanaian celebrity to reach one million followers on Facebook in 2014. Beyond acting, Dumelo is an accomplished businessman and farmer.
Recently, he starred in Nollywood’s Hijack ’93 (2024) as Captain Ambrose, alongside stars such as Bob Manuel, Nancy Isime and Sam Dede. He is married to Gifty Mawunya Nkornu and has two children.
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