The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Election 2024 flagbearer, Vice President Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, requires an independent mind to choose the best running mate for the party, a leading member of the NPP has said.
Mr. Yaw Dabie Appiah Mensah, a former NPP organiser for the former Brong-Ahafo Region, has explained that that call, however, did not restrain the leadership of the Party from presenting their choice of candidate too.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Odomase in the Sunyani West Municipality, Mr. Mensah said: “I believe Dr. Bawumia already has his choice of running-mate and the NPP must allow him to decide the right person who can pair him up to win the general election.
“Any imposition of a running-mate would be politically suicidal for the NPP because the 2024 general election is very crucial, as the choice of a running-mate is a key factor in determining the fortunes of the party in Election 2024,” Mr Mensah emphasized.
He explained that though the NPP believes in and cherishes internal democracy, the Party’s presidential candidates have the prerogative to make informed decisions about their choice of running-mate and “Dr. Bawumia must therefore be allowed to do the same in the supreme interest of the Party.”
“We can’t easily change our history and precedents. If we try to do so, then we have not learned from our mistakes, and that would not augur well for us in the next general election,” Mr Mensah stated.
“The party believes in Dr. Bawumia, hence, we gave him the nod to lead the NPP to victory in 2024. If indeed that is so, then the leadership and the entire people of our great party must allow him to choose his best pair,” he added.
On the party’s upcoming January 27 parliamentary primaries, Mr Mensah reminded the NPP and the delegates that “we also need parliamentary candidates who share the visions and aspirations of our flagbearer.”
“We can’t afford to go to the ballot and choose parliamentary candidates who would narrow our political fortunes. The actions and inactions of some of the aspirants have already made the NPP unpopular in the eyes of the masses at the constituency level.
“And if we are not extra careful and allow them to lure or influence our decisions, then the Party cannot make any significant impact in Election 2024,” he noted.
Mr Mensah, therefore advised the delegates to remain loyal to the Party and endorse aspirants who always sought the interest of the NPP, “but not those who are always seeking their selfish political ambitions.”
