NPP Presidential Primary: Analyst Criticises Large Campaigns For Congress With Less Than 1,000 Voters

• A political analyst has criticised the massive campaigns of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential aspirants
• The analyst, Dr Nansata Yakubu, told YEN.com.gh that aspirants could have targetted the few super delegates with their campaign messages
• Yakubu said the massive campaigns renewed concerns about the monetisation of Ghanaian politics

Ahead of a keenly contested NPP presidential aspirant race, an analyst, Dr Nansata Yakubu, has expressed concern over the excessive campaigns for a primary featuring less than 1,000 voters.

Yakubu told YEN.com.gh that the size of the campaigns seen for some of the candidates confirmed concerns about the monetisation of Ghana politics.

Yakubu believes the NPP presidential aspirants could have been more measured in their campaigns, regardless of their expectations of winning.

“You have to have an engagement strategy that targets those people. These are the people you have been working within your own political party space. So if you are going to this kind of contest, why does everybody have to be reached?”

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Party unity paramount in the presidential race

Yakubu also cautioned that the party needed to be mindful of party unity when selecting a new flagbearer for the first time since 2007.

She said there had been worrying levels of friction from some of the aspirants and warned that the division would provide ammo for critics ahead of the general election in 2024 and further soil Ghana’s democracy.

“Sometimes you hear some of the [NPP] candidates and you wonder if they are talking about an opposition party or they are talking about their own party person,” she remarked.

“When you make [the campaign] full of rancour and you make it full of insults, then in the end you are not going to achieve a democratic dividend because when you go for the national ballot, your competitors who are watching are going to document these same issues, aggregate them and use them as your weakness.”

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But moving forward, Yakubu said she expected the party’s interest to be paramount after the internal selection process.

"There are permanent interests which are always winning the national ballot. All of them are united on that one… when someone wins a final vote, the others will fall in line.”

10 aspirants in NPP flagbearer race

The NPP currently has 10 aspirants in the race in the persons of Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, Kennedy Agyapong, Alan Kyerematen, Boakye Agyarko, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Dr Owusu Akoto Afriyie, Francis Addai-Nimoh, Joe Ghartey, Kennedy Ohene, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, and Kwadwo Poku.

Bawumia has been described as the establishment candidate in the race and has received endorsements from a number of top NPP politicians.

Some NPP politicians are covering costs for Bawumia during the primary.

Timetable for NPP elections

YEN.com.gh previously reported that the NPP has set November 4, 2023, for the national congress​​​​​, where the NPP's flagbearer for the 2024 presidential elections would be selected.

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The NPP is holding a first primary on August 26 because, according to its constitution, if there are more than five aspirants, a special delegates congress must be held to reduce the number of aspirants.

The party also barred national, regional, and constituency party executives and MMDCEs from contesting in constituencies with a sitting MP.

Source: YEN.com.gh