Sixty-seven of the New Patriotic Party’s parliamentary aspirants ran unopposed in yesterday’s primaries and were acclaimed by delegates of the party in their constituencies.
Official primaries were held in almost all of the remaining 101 seats where sitting NPP MPs faced at least one rival. Voting was called off in Asante Akim North after 145 delegates took out an injunction to prevent the primary taking place.
By the end of counting in the primaries, 40 sitting NPP MPs had lost the chance to run for another term and 60 had been retained.
Pundits are variously ascribing the heavy losses by so many incuments to dissatisfaction with their performance, the intense culture of competition within the NPP, and waning popularity of sitting MPs because they have been tied to Accra and less visible in their constituencies until the period immediately leading up to the primaries.
Insiders also blame big spending by individual challengers, especially in Ashanti and the five Northern regions, with eleventh-hour movements of cash swaying delegates’ votes. In certain cases, big man politics backfired badly on the candidate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opd-K3JmijM
The closeness of the results, even in some constituencies where the incumbent survived, will leave the NPP reflecting soberly on the work it needs to do between now and December to repair rifts in its ranks. If it does not, it will be unable to unleash the full weight of the party’s machinery on the main opposition National Democratic Congress.
A high-level insider with a long-term overview of NPP history told Asaase Radio that although the cull of incumbents has led to many unfortunate losses, the primaries have refreshed and reinvigorated the party. With prominent new figures in the saddle, from Farouk Aliu Mahama in Yendi to the 34-year-old Dakoa Newman in Okaikoi South, the NPP shows that it is going through a generational shift and will be presenting a fresh bid for a second term of the Akufo-Addo government in December, he said.
Here are some of the big names who lost the race to contest a seat on behalf of the NPP in the December 2020 elections:
Mark Assibey Yeboah – New Juaben South
Daniel Okyem Aboagye – Bantama
Vincent Sowah Odotei – La Dadekotopon
William Agyapong Quaittoo – Akim Oda
Collins Owusu Amankwah – Manhyia North
Kennedy Kwasi Kankam – Nhyiaeso
Joseph Kofi Adda – Navrongo Central
Kofi Brako – Tema Central
Ahmed Arthur – Okaikoi South
Habib Saad – Bortianor-Ngleshie-Amanfrom
Ben Abdallah Banda – Offinso South
Ama Sey – Akwatia
Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie – Ablekuma North
Kwame Asafu-Adjei – Nsuta Kwamang Beposo
Joseph Albert Quarm – Manso Nkwanta
Kwadwo Appiah Kubi – Atwima Kwanwoma
Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu – Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai
Kwabena Owusu Aduomi – Ejisu
Ato Panford – Shama
Alex Kofi Agyekum – Mpohor
Joe Mensah – Kwesimintsim
Sagre Bambangi – Walewale
Below is the full list of results from the NPP primaries:
The NPP has announced that the official selection of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2020 general election will take place next Saturday, 27 June. Akufo-Addo is the only candidate who has put his name forward, so the selection will be by acclamation and a formality.
Also on 27 June, three outstanding primaries will be settled. In Dormaa Central (Bono Region), the incumbent MP – Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, the Minister of Health – will be declared the unopposed candidate following the withdrawal of his sole challenger for the seat, Dr Yao Yeboah.
Resolution has been reached over the names in the NPP voters’ register for Kwadaso (Ashanti Region), so primaries will proceed there as normal.
And in Gushegu (Northern Region), after consultation with local NPP bigwigs – including the standing MP, Honourable Iddi Ziblim, and his main rival, Osman Mahama – all the contenders previously preparing to run in the primaries have agreed to stand aside in favour of a consensus candidate. Hassan Tampuli, chief executive of the National Petroleum Authority, will be declared the party’s choice to run in the December parliamentary election.
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* This article was corrected on Sunday 21 June at 2.55pm. A previous version stated that 51 sitting MPs had lost their seats; the correct figure is 40.
* This article was updated with a picture on Tuesday 23 June at 3.19pm.
