As the jostling for the slot to partner Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the 2024 general elections intensifies, a political and social analyst, Modestus Archer, has called on the Standard Bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to consider a running mate either from the Eastern, Central or Western region to change the dynamics a bit and to increase his chances of winning the 2024 general elections.
In an interview to elicit his views on the chances of Dr. Bawumia going into the 2024 general elections, Modestus Archer said it’s quite an uphill task for the sitting Vice President especially, as the Head of the Economic Management Team (EMT), given the current state of the economy, however, if he is able to choose a dynamic, young, intelligent and affable partner from any of the three regions mentioned above, could have the propensity to increase his chances.
According to him, it’s obvious that the choice of a running mate at this time within the NPP is highly tilted towards someone of Ashanti extraction but a smart analysis of the dynamics in the Ashanti region indicates that Ashanti’s’ don’t necessarily vote NPP because one of their own is leading the party or he’s the running mate.
“They will definitely vote NPP regardless of where whoever is democratically elected to lead them comes from. There are empirical evidences to support this, like it happened in their recent Special Delegates conference where the most popular politician in Ashanti region in the name of Alan Kyeremanten was ‘rejected’ by the Ashantis’ with their overwhelming support going for a Northerner(Dr. Bawumia)” he explained.
He continued, “in fact this is not the first time this had happened, the Ashantis voted massively for Dr. Hilla Liman and did same for President Akufo-Addo from the Eastern region when Alan contested him twice so the choice of running mate from Ashanti region will not sway much”.
Asked about his choice of possible or likely candidate from the regions he has chosen for Dr. Bawumia’s consideration, Mr. Modestus stated that there are really a few of them like Ken Agyepong himself who really gave him a run for his money in their primaries. He is popular, politically astute and he has the base of the grassroots and he is from Central region.
He said, Asamoah Boateng from the Central region could also do the trick because he has been around for a long time and understands the central regional politics.
The Political Analyst stated that “another fine gentleman who could to make a right fix for a regional balance is Hon. George Mireku Duker from the Western Region. His Dad also comes from the Central region and he is the current Member of Parliament (MP) for Tarkwa Nsuaem, such a cool affable and intelligent man. He once served as a constituency secretary of Mfantsiman too.
“Bryan Acheampong from the Eastern region could also equally compliment Dr. Bawumia’s ticket. He is the MP for Abetifi constituency and Minister for Food and Agriculture with huge investments in the eastern region, employing several hundreds of workers”, he opined.
“Also the ‘tussle’ between Hon. Mathew Opoku Prempeh and the Minister for Eductaion Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum both from the Ashanti region and angling for the same slot may bring discord within their ranges if one is picked out of the two”, Mr. Modestus opined.
