Denis Miracle Aboagye, Director of Communications and Spokesperson for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign, has highlighted the importance of choosing a “politically correct” running mate for the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer.
Speaking on PM Express on JoyNews, he pointed out that Dr. Bawumia’s running mate needs to contribute a significant number of votes and successfully support Bawumia’s governance initiatives once in office.
“These are the two essential components, and he (Bawumia) is driven by these two things.” This person needs to be politically correct, as I mentioned.
To put it plainly, this means that before we can rule, we must first go out and get votes. Thus, this individual needs to be able to secure enough votes to back each and every vote that Dr. Bawumia will be bringing.
“Eventually, when we win the elections based on the votes that we have collectively brought into the polls, we need to govern.
“In governance, Dr. Bawumia has articulated several policies and action points for various sectors and he would need a person who would complement his efforts and give him the right support to be able to implement and execute this vision,” Mr Aboagye said.
With these important considerations in mind, the Bawumia campaign spokesperson stated that before deciding to run for flagbearer, the NPP candidate was convinced about his choice of running mate.
According to Mr. Aboagye, all he is doing is abiding by the NPP’s regulations, which stipulate that the running mate must be chosen after consulting the National Council, which would approve any other nomination.
“But he (Dr Bawumia), as a person, has been clear in his mind who he is nominating, long before he was elected on November 4th during the presidential primaries. What is left now is for the time to be due,” Mr Aboagye said.
His comments come after a National Investigative Bureau survey revealed that Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh is widely preferred among party members to be the running mate to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia.
5,116 NPP delegates from across the country participated in the survey, including national, regional, constituency, and polling place executives.
Dr. Opoku Prempeh received 76.2% of responses from the CEOs surveyed, according to the report.
Following him was the Minister of Education and MP for the Bosomtwe, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, who garnered 10.16%.
The delegates are also considering Bryan Acheampong, the Minister of Agriculture and Member of Parliament for the Abetifi Constituency, and Apostle Opoku Onyinah, the former Chairman of the Pentecost Church-Ghana.
There was a substantial consensus, according to the study, that the running mate should be chosen from the Ashanti Region, which presents a difficulty for Dr. Bawumia since he must choose from top party figures.