I’m not politically neutral. I wrote an article to that effect in 2014. It’s a Google search away. I am a citizen of Ghana, first and foremost, before being a journalist. I vote. And I have an interest in who becomes my president.
The last time I voted was in 2016. I voted for the NPP‘s Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. I had voted for John Dramani Mahama in the 2012 election, but I believed —and still believe today —that he did not deserve my vote in 2016. (He appears to have learnt some great lessons in the wilderness of opposition.)
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In my latest book, The President Ghana Never Got, I stated why I would not vote in the 2024 election. But I also stated in that book that an NPP victory in 2024 would send a dangerous signal about our democracy, that a party could kill and still be retained in office to continue killing with impunity. An NPP defeat could ensure some semblance of accountability. Thankfully, many Ghanaians agreed with me.
Until a better and serious alternative emerges in 2028, I may have to choose between the NPP and the NDC. If what John Mahama has done so far as president continues, and if he were to contest again, I wouldn’t have a difficulty choosing who to vote for in 2028.
But John Mahama will not contest. And high are the chances that the government will mess up at some point. Besides, the rumours I hear from the NDC’s camp about Mahama’s possible successor don’t inspire hope. Who leads the NDC and how the party performs in the next four years will determine my choice between the NDC and NPP.
That is why I am interested in who leads the NPP, the party that is ready to choose its flag bearer. I want a candidate I can vote for if the NDC doesn’t impress me. Among the options lined up to lead the NPP, the candidate who has the chance of getting my vote is Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
Dr. Bawumia may not be the best in the entire NPP as a party, but from the list of options ready to lead, he stands out by miles. Next to Bawumia, in my preference, is Kwabena Agyei Agyepong. (My first or second choice would have been Dr. Yaw Adutwum if he hadn’t become a substantive minister. I’ll explain in my next article.)
I’m not neutral. I have an interest in who leads the NDC. And I have an interest in who leads the NPP. It is from the two that Ghanaians like me will choose from in 2028. I cannot be interested in who wins the election in America and pretend that I don’t care who governs Ghana.
Even if I end up not voting for Bawumia, it is in the interest of our democracy that the opposition party remains strong and elects the most formidable and level-headed candidate to lead them.
It is in the interest of the NDC that the NPP elect a bad candidate. And it is in the interest of the NPP that the NDC elect a bad candidate. However, it is in the interest of our democracy and the well-being of Ghanaians that both parties put their best foot forward.
Dr. Bawumia has been part of a failed regime, but in my article, in which I intend to explain why I think Bawumia should lead the NPP, I will also explain why Bawumia’s failure in that regime is enough to disqualify his internal opponents if that failure were to form the basis for his rejection in the internal race.
At a period of heightened acrimony and division threatening the party’s chances at returning to power, the party needs a unifying figure. And I see that in Bawumia. It is true that he led the party once and lost, but he’s in an enviable company of first-time election losers.
Kufuor lost in 1996 before winning in 2000. President Atta Mills lost twice, in 2000 and 2004, before winning in 2008.
President Akufo-Addo lost twice, in 2008 and 2012, before winning in 2016.
President Mahama lost twice, in 2016 and 2020, before winning in 2024.
I’ve also heard that Bawumia has enough money to pump into the party. If the primary consideration for leading the NPP were money, then Chairman Wuntumi could as well be the NPP’s flag bearer.
