NPP MPs who defy party rules to back Dr. Bawumia will lose their seats – Alan Kyerematen’s camp
The race for the flagbearer position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is heating up, with candidates jostling for support from delegates ahead of the primaries in November 2023. However, some Members of Parliament (MPs) have come under fire from the deputy spokesperson for the Alan Kyerematen campaign team, Richard Nyamah, for openly flouting party rules to support Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
Speaking on Citi TV’s Big Issue on Saturday, May 6, Nyamah warned that these MPs would face the wrath of their constituents, with their seats under threat in the upcoming parliamentary primaries. He added that most of these MPs would be replaced at the end of the process.
Nyamah also criticized a private meeting between some MPs and the Vice President in Accra, describing it as a “media gimmick” to deceive and coerce NPP delegates into thinking that Dr. Bawumia is the favorite among NPP MPs. He emphasized that the Alan Kyerematen campaign team is not bothered by the seeming support of some MPs and party leadership for the Vice President.
Nyamah stated that the campaign team is directly selling their message to the polling station and constituency executives for their candidate to emerge victorious in the presidential primaries.
The NPP has set November 4, 2023, for its presidential primaries to select a flagbearer for the general elections in 2024. However, if more than five candidates file to run in the primaries, the party will call a Special Congress on August 26. The nomination period for the presidential primaries will begin on May 26 and end on June 24, 2023.
For the most part, the Alan Kyerematen campaign team is unperturbed by the seeming support of some MPs and party leadership for the Vice President. Nyamah urged party delegates to look beyond the media gimmicks and vote based on their convictions and what each candidate has to offer.
Seven other candidates have declared their intention to contest for the NPP flagbearership position, including former Food and Agriculture Minister Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Assin Central MP Kennedy Agyapong, and Francis Addai Nimo. The others are former MP for Essikado-Ketan, Joe Ghartey, former General Secretary of the NPP, Kwabena Agyapong, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, and former Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko. Dr. Bawumia has not publicly declared his intention to contest for the flagbearer position but has confirmed his presidential ambition to a group of NPP MPs during a private meeting held on Thursday, May 4.