Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has maintained his top position on the ballot as the New Patriotic Party (NPP) prepares to hold its 2024 flagbearer elections.
The balloting took place on Wednesday, September 13, at the party’s headquarters in Accra. The results indicate that Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who garnered the majority of votes in the first round of polls on Saturday, August 26, secured the second position.
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, a former Minister of Food and Agriculture, secured the third position, while Francis Addai-Nimoh, a former MP for Mampong, secured the fourth position.
With the withdrawal of former Minister of Trade and Industry Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, only four aspirants will participate in the primary.
Meanwhile, the run-off election scheduled for September 2, 2023, to determine the winner of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer race between Francis Addai-Nimoh and Boakye Kyeremateng Agyarko has been cancelled. The party’s leadership made the decision following Mr. Agyarko’s withdrawal from the contest.
In a statement addressed to Mr. Agyarko on August 31, 2023, the Chairman of the NPP Presidential Elections Committee, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, acknowledged his decision to withdraw and announced that the run-off election would no longer take place.
The run-off was intended to determine which candidate would join the standing four for the NPP’s presidential primary on November 4. However, Mr. Agyarko objected to the party’s decision to allow only the National Council to vote, rather than the 955 delegates who participated in the initial exercise on August 26, citing a breach of the party’s constitutional provisions.
“I refuse to be a part of such an act that seeks to unjustly truncate a previously agreed upon process and cannot be part of what is about to be done on Saturday, 2nd 2, 2023. I cannot, with a clear conscience make such an impermissible concession to such an errant decision. I, therefore, respectfully, serve this notice to refrain from such a contest. As always, I wish the party well,” he said in a letter addressed to Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye on August 31, 2023.
