Lawyer and historian, Anokye Frimpong, has indicated that Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is now in pole position to win the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential promises for the 2024 elections.
Speaking in an interview on Power FM on Monday, August 28, 2023, Lawyer Anokye Frimpong explained that the events that transpired during NPP’s Special Delegate Conference have greatly shifted the flagbearership race in favour of the vice president.
He said that historical parties that win the first of two sets of elections, always end up winning the second.
He added that the results of the Special Delegate Congress, which Dr Bawumia won massively, would psychologically push most of the party’s delegates to vote for him during the main congress on November 4, 2023.
“… the repercussion (of the results of the conference) is that it would be easy for the elitist class, including the President of Ghana (Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo) and the vice president, to campaign on the fact that the vice president won with over 600 votes with his closest contenders getting only 100 votes.
“The second thing is that they would tell them (the delegates) that the good people of Ghana have seen the good works of Akufo-Addo and that is why his vice won (the conference),” he said in Twi.
He added that the elitist class in the NPP would also tell the party’s delegates that if they vote against Bawumia then they are saying that Akufo-Addo has not performed which means that the people of Ghana would vote against the party in the 2024 elections.
Per the results, Dr Bawumia garnered 629 votes representing 68.15 percent of the total votes cast. The results are based on figures collated by 17 out of 17 voting centres across the country.
Behind him is Assin Central lawmaker, Kennedy Agyapong who polled 132 votes representing 14.30 percent while Alan Kyerematen polled 95 votes representing 10.29 percent in the elections which took place on Saturday, August 26, 2023.
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto secured the fourth spot for the party’s presidential primaries with 36 votes representing 3.90%.
Boakye Agyarko and Francis Addai-Nimoh tied in the 5th position with 9 votes each representing 0.98%.
Other candidates who contested in the elections were Joe Ghartey with 4 votes, Kwadwo Poku with 3 votes, Kwabena Agyepong with 5 votes and Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku failed to secure a single vote.
The Super Delegates Conference is aimed at reducing the pool of contenders vying for the party's presidential candidacy in the upcoming 2024 general election.
Ten candidates from the NPP participated in the race, with the objective of selecting five candidates who will proceed to another round of voting in November this year
The final round will determine the substantive candidate of the NPP for the presidential election ahead of the 2024 general elections.
BAI/AW
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Anokye Frimpong (left) and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia