Pressure has been mounting on Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to choose his running mate as the party prepares for the 2024 general election.
This pressure has been emanating from the rank and file of the party, as well as from sections of the press.
Supporters of some notable names within the party have been using various platforms to campaign for the slot, a development that many believe could divide the party if not managed properly.
However, Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, the party’s Chairman of the Council of Elders, has admonished supporters to exercise restraint and give the Vice-President ample time to make a decision.
According to Mr. Owusu-Agyemang, it is only the presidential candidate who will be on the ballot paper and he must therefore be given time and space to assert his leadership and consult broadly first.
He added that the pressure being put on Dr. Bawumia has no basis.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, Mr. Owusu-Agyemang emphasized that Dr. Bawumia is following a prescribed process in selecting his vice-presidential candidate, and urged individuals who are publicly lobbying for the position to stop.
“It has never happened before in the life of this particular party, the NPP, where there have been pressures and campaigns all over the place for who partners him [Bawumia],” Mr. Owusu-Agyemang noted.
“At the end of the day, it is Dr. Bawumia’s face and name which will be on the ballot paper. There are 16 regions; carrying out his duty as vice-president, sometimes acting as president, and then going around takes a bit of time, so he needs time to do all these things and follow due process in consultation with the national council,” he added.
In December 2023, the party gave Dr. Bawumia more time to consult broadly to come up with his running mate for the 2024 general election.
The decision, taken at the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National Council (NC) meeting held in Accra, was in line with the NPP’s constitutional requirement, which mandates the selection of a running mate at least 12 months before a major election if the President is not the candidate.
The party leadership waived the requirement considering the flagbearer was elected barely a month earlier in November 2023.
Meanwhile, members of the Bawumia campaign have hinted that the flagbearer would select a running mate this month. Sammi Awuku, a senior campaign aide to the Vice President, speaking on Yen Nsempa on Onua FM on Tuesday, May 14, disclosed that the Vice President will announce his running mate in June.
A few days later, Nana Akomea, the Vice Chairman of the Bawumia Campaign team, also disclosed that the NPP flagbearer will present a name to the party’s National Council for consideration as his running mate by the end of June.
