Kwadwo Mpiani, a former Chief of Staff under the Kufuor-led administration, is not the least enthused about the proposal for Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and Alan Kyerematen to run together on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 presidential election.
“I believe the proposal fails to take into account issues bordering on candidates’ compatibility and differences in political ambitions which is easier said than done and I do not think you will just pick anybody as your running mate if you are not compatible,” he observed.
According to Mr Mpiani, if they cannot work together within the same party why should they be on the same ticket but if they can work in the party and one of them decides to partner the other, then maybe the proposal could be tenable saying “but even with that, the problem as I see is, who is going to be the presidential candidate and who will be the running mate?”
He indicated that in politics, people have ambitions, maybe it is someone’s ambition to be president, not vice president so why should someone join with another person to become vice presidential candidate.
Nana Akomea, a former Director of Communications of the NPP, had suggested that the two leading candidates meet the requirements of the north and south balance, and taking advantage of that to allow them to run, would prevent rancorous contest, but Mr Mpiani disagreed.
Mr Mpiani advised the party to rather focus on choosing its most suitable candidate who would subsequently select his preferred running mate for the general election and intimated that the party should be mature enough to point out its choice of presidential candidate for that candidate to choose another person as his running mate which should be fair enough.
Dr Bawumia and Mr Kyerematen are expected to contest against each other for the first time in a keen contest although it will be the Vice President Dr Bawumia’s first attempt, Mr Kyerematen, the Minister of Trade and Industry, has contested against Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo thrice before the latter was elected President in 2016. –citinewsroom.com
