Political analyst questions suitability of Opoku Prempeh as Bawumia’s running mate
In a thought-provoking statement, Jonathan Asante Otchere, a political analyst at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), has raised significant questions about the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s of Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh as running mate.
Asante’s question revolves around whether or not the reputation of Matthew Opoku Prempeh, popularly known as NAPO, positions him as a firm and strong candidate capable of garnering broad support beyond the party’s base to help the party ‘break the 8.’
“Do you think that Dr. NAPO presents as a firm and strong running mate that can transcend the party?” Asante asked pointedly.
“We have all these voters casting their ballots. Does Dr. NAPO present efficiently as a potential Vice President to Dr. Bawumia? That is a question that needs answering,” Asante emphasized.
He explained that his line of questioning stems from Ghanaians placing a high value on the character, temperament, and personality of their leaders which according to Asante, NAPO does not meet these criteria in the eyes of many Ghanaians.
To illustrate his point, he referenced a past incident involving NAPO where he challenged citizens to produce a load-shedding timetable if they believed there was a power crisis, this incident, according to Asante, highlighted a lack of proper discretion and public engagement on NAPO’s part.
This was during a period when both the Energy Ministry and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) denied the existence of “dumsor” (power outages) but the country still faced erratic power supply nationwide.
“There are petty things that put people off—temperament, character, exercising proper discretion when it comes to engaging the public. No one is obliged to vote for any party, so you must always present yourself in such a way that will help you gain mass acceptance,” Asante said.
Citing an example to buttress his claim that Ghanaians place high value on character, temperament, and personality, he drew comparisons between Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong and Flagbearer of the party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia while they were both flagbearer aspirants.
He noted how Kennedy Agyapong, despite having a strong message, lost to Dr Bawumia in the party’s internal race due to a lack of trust stemming from his past utterances.
This example, he says, underscores the importance of a leader’s public perception and past behavior in winning voter confidence.
