Since next year, 2024, is a general election year, all the vibrant political parties in the country are preparing for it by first electing their presidential candidates, commonly described in the country as flag bearer.
As part of the process to elect a flag bearer, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) held a Super Delegates’ Conference on Saturday.
The conference became necessary because of the dictates of Article 12(b) of the party’s constitution.
The article states that, “Where there are more than five contestants for nomination as the party’s presidential candidate, a special electoral college shall cast their votes by secret ballot for the first five contestants to be shortlisted.”
When NPP is in power and the President needs a second term, it is not difficult for the party to give him a popular acclamation.
They did that for President John Agyekum Kufuor in 2003 and for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2020.
However, in years when a sitting president is not a candidate, there is no restraint and so as many candidates as possible are allowed, hence the Article 12(b) to make things easy for the party.
This year, 10 candidates put in their candidature and so that article must be invoked as a step on the way to electing the NPP flag bearer for the 2024 general election.
We congratulate the NPP on a successful yet inconclusive Super Delegate Conference last Saturday.
Special congratulations to the four who have sailed through unscathed, namely Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong, former Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen, and former Agriculture minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto.
A tie between former Mampong Member of Parliament, Francis Addai-Nimoh and former Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, could not allow the fifth person to be elected in line with the party’s constitution.
Hopefully that deadlock will be broken on September 2 with a tie-breaker run-off for the party to be set for the November 4, 2023 main delegates’ conference to choose one person as the NPP flag bearer.
We say better luck to the four candidates who did not make it, namely Kwabena Agyapong, Joe Ghartey, Kwadwo Poku and Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, as well as the one going to fall out after the tie-breaker voting.
It is unfortunate that the NPP did not get a conclusive Super Delegates’ Conference and so the delegates, conference organisers and the two candidates will have to expend extra energy for the tie-breaker.
Besides, there is the likelihood that the two candidates will have to spend more resources to canvass for votes.
There are lessons from the party’s preparations to elect its flag bearer and actions to resolve challenges.
The party should think of a constitutional provision to resolve a tie on the day of the Super Delegates Conference to save energy and resources.
It is common for political parties to have factions when it comes to internal elections.
However, some of the happenings this year in the NPP are not pleasant.
The insinuations and open castigations against certain candidates, for instance, were not palatable.
We know the tie-breaker will pass peacefully and end the stage of the process to choose the flag bearer but the question is, what will happen in the run-off to the main delegates’ conference to choose the flag bearer?
The powers that be in the party should do all it can to mend cracks that have been created now and proactively prevent those likely to emerge in the run-up to the main delegates’ conference.
Acrimony can deny the NPP the grace for “breaking the eight” it so desires to make history in the country’s Fourth Republic.
