By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Bolgatanga, Nov 3, GNA – All things being equal, a total of 8,118 delegates across the 15 constituencies in the Upper East Region will vote in the upcoming Presidential Primary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The number comprised the electoral area coordinators, polling station executives, constituency executives, regional executives, council of elders and patrons, the Member of Parliament and the Regional Minister.
Mr Peter Ayinbisa, the Upper East Regional Communication Officer of the NPP, who revealed this to the Ghana News Agency in an interview noted that all preparations with the Electoral Commission and the Ghana Police Service had been done for the election to be held across all the 15 constituencies in the region.
“Everything is set and we are good to go and we know that on Saturday everything will be successful,” he said.
He said all the necessary collaboration and efforts to ensure transparent, free and fair election had been done and expressed optimism that the delegates would elect a presidential candidate that had the character to unite the party ahead of the 2024 general elections.
“We expect the delegates to vote according to their conscience, we expect that the exercise to be peaceful, no acrimonies and anyone who will be elected will be accepted by all and we will move on from there,” he said.
He said although all the four candidates were good, the party was looking forward to selecting a presidential candidate who had what it takes to lead the party to make history by becoming the first political party in the country to retain power beyond eight consecutive years.
“We expect the delegates to choose among the four who is more experienced, humble, resonate well with the delegates and the Ghanaian people and who has a track record in the management of the political party and for that matter the country.
“They will have to select the one who has the highest tendency of beating John Mahama and the NDC and above all who can unite the party because unity is important,” he added.
He debunked claims that the seemingly misunderstanding in the party would affect the party’s chances of retaining power in the 2024.
“I disagree because in 2016, the national chairman, second national vice chairman and general secretary were suspended but we went to win that election, it is normal, but the ability to reconcile after the internal election is what matters most”.
Come Saturday, November 4, 2023, the NPP would hold its Presidential primary to elect a flagbearer to lead the party into the 2024 general election among four candidates who were selected in the super delegates’ conference held in August, 2023.
They are Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Mr Kenedy Agyapong, MP for Assin Central constituency, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, former Minister of Food and Agriculture and Mr Francis Addai-Nimoh, a former MP for Mampong constituency.
GNA