Alan Kyerematen with John Dramani Mahama
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Alan Kyerematen, is leading Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia in the race for the flagbearer slot of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), the latest poll by Global InfoAnalytics says.
According to Global InfoAnalytics, its second national tracking poll in the 16 regions of the country, saw “a remarkable fightback by Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen in the race to lead the NPP in 2024, as he came from behind to lead H.E Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia by 36% to 33%”.
The report said: “Dr. Bawumia had a commanding lead in the January 2022 polls where he led Alan [Kyerematen] by 40% to 28%”.
The poll noted that Mr. Kyerematen swept “the critical regions to take the lead”.
“In what was a reversal of fortune, Alan Kyerematen wins all the regions except Northern, North East, Upper West, and Upper East regions”, the poll found.
On the flip side, the poll found that in the race to lead the National Democratic Congress (NDC), former President John Mahama “continues to increase his lead” over his rivals: former Minister of Finance Kwabena Dufour and Mr. Kojo Bonsu, a former mayor of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly.
The poll said Mr. John Mahama is backed by 57% of the voters while Dr. Duffuor and Mr. Kojo Bonsu manage 12% and 4%, respectively.
Additionally, the poll also shows the president’s job approval rating declining from 34% in January 2022 to 27% in April.
“Sixty-seven percent of voters disapprove the job performance of the president, resulting in a net approval rating of 40% negative (approval minus disapproval)”.
“On the question of whether voters believe the country is heading in the right direction or wrong direction, only 26% were of the view that the country is heading in the right direction with 67% saying it is heading in the wrong direction,” the report said.
The findings of Global InfoAnalytics come a day after the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) projected that the NDC will win the 2024 polls but will have its chances boosted by a fresh face on the ballot box rather than former President Mahama.
“The next parliamentary and presidential elections are due in 2024. Under constitutionally mandated term limits, the incumbent president, Mr. Akufo-Addo, cannot run for a third term”.
“The former president, John Mahama, is reportedly considering running again, but we expect the opposition NDC to try to revitalise its prospects with a fresh candidate,” the report said.
The EIU report noted: “Our baseline forecast is that ongoing public dissatisfaction with the slow pace of improvements in governance—such as infrastructure development, job creation and easing of corruption—will trigger anti-incumbency factors and push the electorate to seek a change”.
“The NDC, therefore, stands a reasonable chance of winning the 2024 elections”.
Apart from Mr. Mahama, who is rumoured to be considering a comeback, Dr. Duffuor and Mr. Bonsu have both publicly expressed interest in becoming the flagbearer of the NDC ahead of the 2024 elections.
A few days ago, a former flagbearer aspirant of the NDC, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, was one of the prominent stalwarts who graced the launch of the party’s 'Ahotor project' spearheaded by Dr. Duffuor.
Also present at the launch were former Information Minister Fritz Baffour, who also served as Ablekuma South MP, and Mr. Horace Ankrah, a former Ambassador to China under President John Mills.
At the launch of the micro-business project at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region on Thursday, 7 April 2022, Dr. Duffuor challenged the leadership of the NDC to stop talking and rather start committing resources to the reorganisation drive of the party so it can capture power in the 2024 general elections.
The former Governor of the Bank of Ghana presented 100 plastic chairs, four canopies, and a public address system to the party’s leadership of the Ashaiman Constituency to be rented to the public to generate some revenue to energise the branch base of the party.
The project is expected to be replicated in the remaining 274 constituencies across the country.
In the first phase of the project, 40 items will be presented to the constituency chairmen of the party.
Apart from Dr. Spio-Garbrah, Mr. Ankrah, and Mr. Baffour, some other prominent persons who graced the event include founding member Kofi Aikins and former Eastern Regional Minister Antwi Boasiako Sekyere.
The others include Mr. Winfield Akuako, a failed parliamentary aspirant for the Klottey Korley Constituency, and Dome-Kwabenya Constituency Chairman, Mr. Lamptey, among others.
At the ceremony, Dr. Duffour said: “We’re changing the face of the NDC by empowering the branch executives of the party”.
He noted that the Ahotor project is targeted at providing sustainable revenue to the party at the branch level.
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