Collins Owusu Amankwah, a former Member of Parliament for Manhyia North, has told members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) not to experiment with their choice of presidential candidate for the 2024 elections.

According to him, the party has a tried and tested strategy for elections which is a Christian presidential candidate from the southern part of Ghana and a Muslim running mate from the north which must not be abandoned.

Speaking in an interview on Angel FM, on January 27, 2023, which was monitored by GhanaWeb, the former NPP MP posited that choosing a flagbearer outside the party’s strongholds will have an adverse impact on its electoral fortunes come 2024.

“Politics is about strategies; it is about numbers – comparative advantage. Numbers decide everything in the context of democracy. So that is why you have to choose your candidate from a place you have the numbers and try to add some numbers from the stronghold of your opponent. You don’t abandon your stronghold.

“In politics, there are certain key formulas you can’t do away with. We have had a winning formula that has helped us to win 4 elections - the south Christian flagbearer and north Muslim running mate ticket. That is the winning formula for the NPP and now you want to tell me that we should abandon that winning formula.

“In the Ghanaian political market, whether you like it or not, there are some determining factors that you cannot do away with, and these include religion, ethnicity, and personality,” he said in Twi.

Owusu Amankwah, who is part of the campaign team of NPP presidential hopeful, Alan Kyerematen, also said that Alan should be the flagbearer of the party.

According to him, Alan is the man for the NPP because he meets all the necessary requirements that will help the party win the 2024 elections.

He added that it is the turn of Alan to be the flagbearer of the NPP because the delegates of the party believe in “queue theory” and Alan is the next in line to take over the party’s leadership.

The former Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, is expected to face stiff competition from Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and former Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, for the flagbearership position of the NPP.

Watch the interview below:



IB/SEA