Nana Akufo-Addo
President Akufo-Addo says he has adopted a neutral status in the New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s internal election to choose a flagbearer for the 2024 general election.
He said this is part of efforts to create the condition for a fair process in order to guarantee party unity after the competition.
According to him, his preference is subtle until when the time is due for him to cast his vote during the party’s presidential primaries.
“The only time that preference will be shown is when I go to vote, but until then, I have no preference. My attitude is a simple one; just create the condition for a fair process, one that will enable us after the completion [of the internal elections] to unite the party,” the President stated in Upper West.
President Akufo-Addo was responding to questions in an interview on Nandom FM as part of his two-day tour of the region, during which he insisted that he has no favourite in the people gunning to succeed him, and would not exhibit preferential treatment towards any NPP presidential hopeful.
President Akufo-Addo said he would vote for somebody who would have the capacity to unite the party and put it in a position to confront its traditional opponent, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and beat its candidate in the general election.
The President stated that he would do what is humanly possible to ensure victory for the NPP and the candidate who will be elected to lead the party, while pledging to remain neutral in the whole process in choosing the candidate.
Several stalwarts of the NPP, including Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia; Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen; Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong; former Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko; Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Afriyie Akoto; and former NPP General Secretary, Kwabena Agyapong, are lacing their boots for the party’s flagbearership contest.
It is likely that the choice of a presidential candidate for the NPP will be influenced by electoral politics and the campaigns against its major opposition, the NDC and issues of regionalism as well as ethnicity.
Law
The 1992 Constitution and the Political Parties Act (Act 574) of 2000 make it mandatory for political parties to promote internal democracy, with Article 55 (5) of the 1992 Constitution stipulating, “The internal organisation of a political party shall conform to democratic principles and its actions and purposes shall not contravene or be inconsistent with this Constitution or any other law.”
In the same vein, Section 9 (a) of the Political Parties Act, 2000 enjoins the Electoral Commission not to register a political party unless “the internal organisation of the party conforms with democratic principles and its actions and purposes are not contrary to or inconsistent with the Constitution.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu