Bawumia Running Mate: Top Pollster Says John Kumah Or Adutwum Would Have Been Safest Pick, Not NAPO

• The head of polls at Global Info Analytics believes New Patriotic Party flagbearer Mahamudu Bawumia’s expected choice of running mate would not be the best pick
• He told YEN.com.gh that Education Minister Yaw Adutwum would have been the safest pick for Bawumia
• Bawumia has consulted President Akufo-Addo on picking Matthew Opoku Prempeh as running mate

The head of polls at Global Info Analytics, Mussa Dankwa, has suggested that New Patriotic Party flagbearer Mahamudu Bawumia’s reported choice of running mate still raises questions for the party.

Dankwa said Education Minister Yaw Adutwum would have been the safest pick for Bawumia and the New Patriotic Party instead of the reported choice of Energy Minister Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh.

He told YEN.com.gh that the other option was former Church of Pentecost Chairman Apostle Professor Kwadwo Nimfour Opoku Onyinah.

Read also

NPP-UK and YEF raise whopping £1.2million for Bawumia's election campaign at special dinner

Beyond that, Dankwah noted that the best option would have been Deputy Finance Minister John Kumah before his passing.

"I would have thought John Kumah would have been the safest bet, but he is no more. Adutwum would have been the safest bet because he is a party member, a member of Parliament, and a Pentecostal.”

While the NPP signalled it wanted a running mate from its stronghold of the Ashanti Region, Dankwah questioned if it would have the desired impact.

“Usually, you don’t use your running mate to galvanise your base because the flagbearer himself is deemed to be a party person, so that person should bring the base.”

“When you are appointing a running mate, you are looking elsewhere. You are looking to see who the running mate can attract to your fold.”

Read also

Auntie Naa: Otumfuo's Chief Priest calls out of Oyerepa Afutuo host, warns her in video

However, given recent controversies in the power sector, questions remain about Prempeh's attractiveness to floating voters.

Dankwah also suggested Prempeh's sway with the NPP grassroots may be overestimated.

Bawumia has yet to present his choice formally to the NPP for further engagements.

Several leading figures in the NPP had stressed that the choice of running mate must come from the Ashanti Region.

NIB survey notes NAPO as the preferred choice for running mate

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported on a National Intelligence Bureau survey which found that Prempeh, was the most preferred candidate for the running mate position.

The survey engaged some 5,116 NPP delegates nationwide, including national, regional, constituency and polling station executives.

Prempeh, the forerunner in the running mate race, secured 76.2% of the responses from the delegates polled.

Proofread by Berlinda Entsie, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh

Source: YEN.com.gh