Frank Annoh-Dompreh, the Majority Chief Whip in Parliament has stated that almost 95 per cent of lawmakers belonging to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) are rallying for the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, in the upcoming presidential primary.
Over 200,000 delegates from across the country are expected to participate in the elections scheduled for Saturday, November 4, 2023.
The exercise, which will elect a flag bearer to represent the party in the 2024 general elections, will take place in every constituency across all 16 regions of the country.
Commenting on the exercise in an interview, the Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP noted the Vice President initially had about 80 per cent support of the Members of Parliament but has now shot to 90 per cent.
He said the main focus of the NPP now is to ensure the party presents a united front for the 2024 elections after tomorrow’s exercise since the primary is already a done deal for Dr. Bawumia.
“We know it is a foregone decision, Dr Bawumia is going to win hands down. It used to be around 80 percent. Now it’s moved higher. We are now doing like 95 percent of MPs who clearly believe that we should rally behind the Vice President. We are now hovering around 95 percent. It will even get better on the D-Day, and I think it’s looking extremely good. Our focus now is to ensure that after Saturday, we progress into a united front,” he stated.
The NPP is gearing up for its presidential primary on Saturday, November 4, 2023.
The four aspirants contesting the flag bearer position have signed an undertaking not to resign from the party if any of them loses the primary on Saturday.
The decision was reached at a meeting between the National Council of Elders and the aspirants.
Dr. Bawumia is the front-runner in the race, but faces stiff competition from Assin Central MP, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.
A recent poll by the Institute of Research, Innovation & Development at Kumasi Technical University found that Bawumia stands a greater chance of winning the race, as he will most likely secure an overwhelming victory in eight regions.
The poll found that 71.1% of NPP delegates believe that Bawumia has a higher chance of breaking the eight-year cycle, while 26.8% of them stated that Kennedy Agyapong stands a better chance.
The other two contestants are former Agriculture Minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and former MP for Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh.
