In a significant show of unity and commitment to the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the four aspirants vying for the party’s flagbearer position have signed an undertaking not to resign from the party, regardless of the outcome of the primary election scheduled for this Saturday.
The aspirants in the hot contest are Assin Central MP and party financier, Hon Ken Ohene Agyapong, who is No. 1 on the ballot; Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia; Former Agric Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto; and civil engineer and former MP for Mampong, Francis Addai Nimoh.
The decision was reached during a crucial meeting held between the National Council of Elders and the aspirants, aimed at fostering party cohesion and ensuring a smooth transition after the flagbearer election. The meeting, chaired by esteemed party members, provided a platform for the aspirants to discuss their intentions and concerns regarding the upcoming primary.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference following the meeting, Justin Koduah Frimpong, the General Secretary of the NPP, expressed his satisfaction with the outcome.
He emphasized the importance of party unity and the need for all members to rally together, irrespective of personal ambitions or electoral results.
The General Secretary also outlined some measures put in place to ensure a smooth event and said, apart from Sunyani East, all was set for the elections to proceed and advised all delegates to adhere to the guidelines and ensure peace and success.
National Chairman of the NPP, Stephen Ntim, for his part, on the NPP rank and file to close all ranks after the party’s presidential primaries, which take place on Saturday, November 4, 2023, and rally behind the candidate who will emerge as the winner after the internal polls.
Stressing the damage that disunity and internal divisions can cause to the NPP’s election fortune in December 2024, Chairman Ntim recalled the 2008 general elections and some of the factors that accounted for the NPP’s painful loss after it led the first round of voting “with 49.13 percent of the total valid votes cast.
Mr. Ntim acknowledged that the 2023 flagbearer election has been hotly contested, and in the process, a lot of water has gone under the bridge. To that end, he called on the entire NPP fraternity “to wipe the slate clean and to approach the presidential primaries with a commitment to work together and support whoever emerges as leader and flagbearer.
Since 2007 and for the last 16 years, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been the leader of the NPP. On Saturday, the party will have the opportunity to elect not only its flagbearer for the 2024 presidential elections but a new leader to take over from President Akufo-Addo.
What was considered a foregone event by some political analysts has become a highly anticipated contest that promises a showdown in every sense as four candidates head into Saturday’s final stage of the presidential primary of the New Patriotic Party.
Photo: MyJoyOnline
