The super delegates of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) will tomorrow decide which five of the 10 candidates vying for the enviable presidential candidate slot will make it to the second round of presidential primaries.
Numbering 956, the delegates will be voting at 17 polling centres across the country to whittle down the number of candidates to five, pursuant to Article 12(b) of the party’s constitution.
“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,” the constitution reads.
In the race are Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, former Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen; sixth-term member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong; former Minister of Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and Joe Ghartey, MP for Esikado/Ketan and a former Railway Development Minister.
The rest are Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, a former Minister of Trade; Boakye Agyarko, a former Minister of Energy; Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, a former General Secretary of the party; Francis Adai Nimo, a former MP for Mampong, and energy consultant, Kojo Poku.
Per the provisions of the party’s constitution, the special Electoral College consists of national and regional executives, former national executives, council members, members of parliament, ministers of state, constituency chairmen, representatives of the youth, women NASARA and students’ wings and foreign delegates.
The candidates come into the race with rich experience and beaming with confidence to make it past the post to ultimately secure the presidential ticket on November 4, 2023, all things held constant.
Whilst five of the candidates are taking their first shot at the journey to the seat of government, the Jubilee House, the other five have been in the race before, some as far back as 1998.
The fresh faces in the contest are Dr Bawumia, considered the front runner, Mr Kennedy Agyapong, Dr Akoto and Kojo Poku.
The old guards in the race are Mr Kyerematen who contested in the 2007, 2010 presidential primaries, Kwabena Agyapong, 2008, Dr Apraku, 1998, 2007, and 2014, Mr Agyarko, 2007, Mr Adai Nimo, 2014 and Joe Ghartey, 2014.
Ahead of the much-anticipated contest, the candidates have been criss-crossing the country in a last minute move to sell their messages and suitability to the delegates in a bid to woo voters to their fold.
However, according to a survey conducted by UK-based Centre for Sustainable African Development Initiative, Dr Bawumia is tipped to come first with at least 72 per cent of the valid votes to be casted.
The survey which sampled the views of the super delegates puts Alan Kyerematen in the second with 7.7 per cent and Mr Kennedy Agyapong third with 4.3 per cent, Kwabena Agyapong in fourth with 1.3 per cent and Dr Akoto fifth on 0.6 per cent.
Despite this poll, the super delegates, the kingmakers, would be spoilt with choice to consider competence, faithfulness to the cause of the party, and the general appeal of candidates to floating voters and ability to prosecute the 2024 electioneering campaign.
The party is seeking to break the eight-year governance jinx to extend its stay in office to 12 years for the first time since the inception of the fourth republic in 1993.
With this in mind, all the candidates have touted themselves as having the magic wand to “break the eight” with special messages and their contributions to the cause of the party.
For Dr Bawumia and his team, he is the face of the party having been on the party’s ticket since 2008 and having garnered the experience as second in command in the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.
The Alan Kyerematen team thinks it’s the former minister’s turn to lead the party with the ‘eduro wo so’ campaign slogan to demonstrate his readiness after he ‘sacrificed’ his political career to allow President Akufo-Addo bear the flag of the party in the 2008 elections even when he failed to procure the 50 per cent plus one vote he needed to be the nominee.
Considered the dark horse in the race, Kennedy Agyapong is promising a new Ghana where patriotism, honesty and discipline would be the watchword to governance but as democracy demands, their fate lie in the hands of the super delegates
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
