One of the flagbearer hopefuls of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Agyepong, has revealed a significant step he took before the collective decision made by him and other aspirants who sought a centralised system for their internal polls.
In preparation for the special delegates congress, scheduled for August 2023, aimed at streamlining the number of aspirants for the NPP’s flagbearer position, all candidates except Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, advocated for a centralised voting process.
However, during an interview with Kofi TV, the former General Secretary of the NPP, Kwabena Agyepong, disclosed that he personally sent a text message to the vice president to inform him of the decision.
He emphasized that this decision was made with no negative intentions or ulterior motives.
“The idea was that if all the 900 people or so are brought to one location and we all vote, it would be of great help. This would also ensure that people are not singled out because of who they voted for. And we did all this with good intention.
“When doing this, we did not leave the vice president out of it. I personally sent him a text message on the day we were doing this, asking him what his thoughts were on the decision. And I did same to all the aspirants,” he said.
Kwabena Agyepong emphasized that the decision to opt for a centralised voting system is rooted in past experiences, where individuals faced victimization based on how they voted in the decentralised system.
He further explained that with the country’s expansion of regions, the review of the voting process becomes even more crucial, considering that while the decentralised system might have worked in the past, a better alternative is needed now.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has set November 2023 as the date for electing its presidential aspirant for the 2024 general elections. Prior to that, the party has scheduled a special delegates congress in August, following the NPP’s constitution, to narrow down the current 10 hopefuls to 5 candidates.