Joe Ghartey
In a surprising turn of events, a former Attorney-General, Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, and Railways Development Minister, Joe Ghartey, as well as three other notable aspirants, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, Kofi Konadu Apraku and Kwadwo Poku have all been eliminated from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential race.
The decision was made during a Super Delegates Conference held on Saturday, August 26, 2023 which was targeted at narrowing down the competition from 10 contenders to just five.
The four candidates who did qualify for the next stage of the race are Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, MP for Assin Central, Ken Agyapong, former Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematen, and former Agriculture Minister Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto. These presidential aspirants will go on to compete in the party’s primary scheduled to be held on November 4, 2023.
However, the fate of two remaining candidates, Francis Addai-Nimo and Boakye Agyarko, remains undecided. Both aspirants secured nine votes each during the Special Delegates Conference.
A run-off is now set to take place on Saturday, September 2, 2023 to determine which of the two aspirants will progress to the next round of the presidential race.
This latest development has strengthened the NPP presidential competition, with the remaining six candidates now vying to secure their place in the final round but two of the candidates who had tied will have run off Saturday September 2 for one of the defeated to be dropped to allow five aspirants to contest the main primary on November 4.
As the race heats up, Ghanaians will no doubt be watching closely to see who comes out on top and becomes the official NPP candidate for the upcoming 2024 presidential elections.
By Vincent Kubi