The director of research and innovation at the Kumasi Technical University (KTU), Prof Smart Sarpong, has predicted victory for Dr Mahamudu Bawumia in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) on November 4, 2023 elected Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as its candidate for the 7 December 2024 elections.
Bawumia obtained 118,210 votes representing 61.47%, beating his main contender Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, a Member of Parliament for Assin Central who obtained 71,996 votes representing 37.41%.
Former Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie-Akoto garnered 1,459 votes representing 0.76% while Francis Addai-Nimoh polled 781 votes representing 0.41%.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Monday, Prof. Sarpong said history favours Bawumia adding that his election will help the NPP make vast inroads in the five Northern Regions.
“For him as a person he comes on as somebody with a very big likelihood of clinching victory for the party because of his leadership, when you check the vote movement, even when he was selected as running mate, you could see an improvement from the north, now that he is been made a leader it will vastly improve.
“Many of the Northern Regions will become a stronghold of the NPP…. if Ashanti maintains its vote, it is expected that the improvement from the five regions will be enough for NPP to win 2024.
“So, I see the person of the vice-president leading the 2024 battle as a first indication of victory for the NPP because the Northern votes are likely to improve beyond what we saw in 2020. And all the party needs to do is to try and consolidate other votes at least if they won’t add on,” Sarpong said.
