Politics
2024 Poll: The vision of our presidential candidate will wipe negative thoughts about the NPP – Kodua
The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Kodua Frimpong, says that all the negative thoughts about the governing party would be revised if the presidential candidate to be elected in the November 4 flagbearer elections outlines his vision.
Kodua Frimpong said that the NPP has a message for Ghanaians ahead of the 2024 general elections.
“I can assure you that after our presidential candidate has laid down his vision for Ghanaians, any negative thought about the NPP will be revised,” he told TV3’s Kemmini Amanor on the Hot Issue show on Sunday, October 29.
He further said no executive of the party has been asked to support Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to win the November 4 flagbearer election.
Speaking on the ‘Hot Issue’ with Kemmini Amanor on TV3 on Sunday, October 29, he said the focus of the national executives is to ensure a smooth process to elect a flagbearer.
“Sometimes questions are raised as to someone being an established candidate but when you talk about the established candidate who are you referring to?
“So far as I am concerned as General Secretary of the party together with our national chairman, and our national executives, we have never, at any point in time, been coerced or suggested to support a particular candidate.
“For us, throughout our dealings with all the aspirants, the presidential election committee, and the rank and file of our party we have been very consistent that our interest is to make sure we navigate this process successfully to elect our flagbearer,” he said when asked whether they have been asked to support the establishment candidate Dr Bawumia.
Earlier, Former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng noted that Dr Bawumia was enjoying the support of government and party officials ahead of the internal elections.
In his view, this show the Vice President was weak without the support of the officials.
He called for an even playing field ahead of the presidential primaries of the NPP.
Apart from Dr. Bawumia, the other aspirants are Assin Central Lawmaker Kennedy Agyapong, former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Akoto Afriyie and Former Member of Parliament for Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh.
In an earlier interview with Keminni Amanor Prof Frimpong-Boateng said “He is most vulnerable and has more baggage than any of the aspirants. If you are strong we leave him to compete on a level-playing grounds.
“But if government or party appointees are whipped in line to toe that line, it shows that he is weak and he needs that kind of support.”
The Presidential Elections Committee of the NPP released the guidelines for the primaries that will take place at all the 276 constituencies across the country and the Party Headquarters, Asylum Down, Accra.
In a statement, the committee said the guidelines outlined the procedures and rules for the primaries that would elect a presidential candidate for the 2024 general election.
“The Electoral Commission (EC) shall supervise the conduct of the elections and shall have the full responsibility of ensuring a transparent, free and fair election. No persons, whether party officials or otherwise whatsoever shall act in contravention to the EC and these guidelines.”
The Committee added that “the security activities rest exclusively with the police and access beyond security perimeters is restricted to Delegates, Presidential Elections Committee Members, Contestants and their accredited agents. The Presidential Elections Committee of the Party is the entity with the Constitutional mandate from National Council to oversee the organization and conduct of the election for the Presidential Candidate,” the committee stated.
The committee also said that there shall be no campaign, canvassing for votes or gathering of party people for any purpose whatsoever a day before voting, adding that there shall be no camping of delegates, accreditation is constituency specific and that the media will be granted accreditation.
“Voters are expected to “walk in” freely by themselves. The physically challenged may be assisted. A voter must wait to be cleared before entering the perimeter- Queue Control. No voter shall wear the colour or effigy of a contestant at the voting center (i.e. T-shirts, cap, posters of contestants). Delegates shall not be allowed to enter the voting screen or booth in groups or in pairs.”
“Voting shall not take place indoors but in an open place in the full glare of the public. It is an offence for unaccredited persons to enter the voting perimeter. A delegate who has already cast his/her vote shall not be re-admitted into the voting perimeter. Any person found directing a delegate on which contestant to vote for commits an offence and shall be removed by the police,” the committee stated.
Politics
We control one-third of NPP; No major decision can be taken without consulting us – Ken Agyapong
Assin Central Member of Parliament Kennedy Agyapong says his performance at the just-ended New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential primary shows that he is a force to be reckoned with and that no major decision can be taken by the party without consulting him.
Mr. Agyapong made the comments on Saturday, November 11, during a “Showdown” Thanksgiving party organized for his supporters and coordinators during the NPP presidential primary campaign.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia won the presidential primary with 118,210 votes, representing 61.47%, while his closest contender, Mr Agyapong, polled 71,996 votes, representing 37.41%.
Speaking at the party, Mr Agyapong thanked his campaign team and said that he was “underestimated” ahead of the primary.
“They underestimated us, but we’ve proven to them that we now control one-third of the NPP,” Mr. Agyapong said. “No major decision will be taken without consulting us.”
Mr. Agyapong added that he had been underestimated by many, including a pastor who predicted that his best performance would be 16%.
“There was this pastor who even said if I get more than 16 percent, he [pastor] should be killed,” Mr. Agyapong said. “But today, I am praying for that pastor, that God should grant him long life and he should not die soon.”
The showdown Thanksgiving party brought together in Accra all coordinators of Mr. Agyapong from every region in Ghana.
The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has been elected to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Election 2024 as flagbearer.
It had been predicted Bawumia was going to win with a larger margin but as promised, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong gave him a “showdown”.
Ken Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central came second with 37.41%.
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto came third with 0.76% while Francis Addai Nimoh was last with 0.41%.
The Institute of Research Innovation & Development at Kumasi Technical University, in its latest poll, has disclosed that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia stands a greater chance of winning the upcoming New Patritoc Party (NPP) flagbearer race as he will most likely secure an overwhelming victory in eight regions.
Ahead of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) presidential primaries on Saturday, November 4, many researchers have tipped Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as leading the race, with Assin Central MP Kennedy Agyapong being his closest contender.
The latest to conduct a poll on the upcoming election is the Institute of Research Innovation & Development at Kumasi Technical University.
The director of the Institute, who is the lead researcher for the poll, Prof. Smart Sarpong, in an interview with Citi News, disclosed that 15,595 NPP delegates were engaged.
He noted that the key components considered among the four aspirants were who is the most unifying, who has the most visible leadership qualities, who is most likely to break the “8,” as well as non-policy factors such as religion and ethnicity were taken into account.
Prof. Smart Sarpong disclosed that 71.1% of the respondents said Dr. Bawumia has a higher chance of breaking the “8,” while 26.8% of them stated that Kennedy Agyapong stands a better chance of breaking the “8.” 1.8% and 0.3% chose Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto and Mr. Addai Nimo, respectively.
69.9% also described Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the most unifying, whereas 19.4% said Kennedy Agyapong is the most unifying. In terms of being the most unifying, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto had 8.5%, while Francis Addai Nimo had 2.2%.
In terms of being the aspirant with the most visible leadership qualities, 70.5% of the delegates engaged chose Dr. Bawumia, and 19.4% mentioned Mr. Kennedy Agyapong. 8.1% and 2.0% of the delegates chose Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto and Addai Nimo, respectively.
With respect to how religion or ethnocentrism can influence the choice of vote, 13.4% said religion would be taken into consideration, while 86.4% said they would not consider religion. 13.8% of the delegates said they would strongly consider ethnicity, while 86.2% said they would not consider one’s ethnic background before voting for them. 97.1% noted they would take into account the past record of each person before voting for them, while 2.9% said that factor would not be considered.
Out of the 16 regions and the one national headquarters, Prof. Smart Sarpong revealed that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has a commanding lead in eight (8) regions with an average of 81.9%.
“Out of these 17 clusters (the 16 regions and the NPP national headquarters), I see 8 of the clusters being already decided. The Vice President has taken a very good lead. Those regions include; North East, Northern region, Upper East and Upper West, Ashanti, Bono, Eastern, and Volta.”
Prof. Smart Sarpong further noted that their research predicts that the election would be open in five regions, as none of the aspirants has a clear lead.
He, however, noted that the work the aspirants put in a few days before the election could change the dynamics.
“It is 50/50 for any aspirant who works extra harder. Those 5 regions include the Western region, Savannah region, BonoEast region, the party headquarters, and Western North.”
The research also showed that Mr. Kennedy Agyapong could have a clear lead in four other regions if he works harder, as he is leading with an average of 49.6%.
“The following regions have the potential of going for Hon. Ken Ohene Agyapong. They are likely going to go for him. It doesn’t mean he should go to sleep on them. He should try and consolidate whatever gains he has in these four regions. So, Hon. Ken and the team, Oti region, Greater Accra region, Central region, and Ahafo region.”
Reacting to the latest poll, the spokesperson of the Kennedy Agyapong campaign team in the Ashanti region, William Kusi, insists that despite the research stating that their candidate is not strong enough in the Ashanti region, their own poll states otherwise.
“Our candidate, for instance, has combed the whole country, and we as a campaign team have also done a lot of work, especially in the Ashanti region. We have heard of the sponsored polls that have come out and are giving Dr. Bawumia the lead, but we disagree because on the ground, we are far ahead.
For instance, our internal polls suggest that we are going to have 75-80 percent support in the Ashanti region. So, when I heard of the polls from the one who always fails, Ben Ephson, for instance, I was like, what is happening? Smart Sarpong at the regional level did so well with his polls. It was accurate, but he is getting it wrong this time,” he said.
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