The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has officially declared Francis Addai Nimoh as the fifth candidate, resolving the tie with former Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko.
The declaration comes after Boakye Agyarko’s withdrawal from the contest.
Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, Chairman of the NPP’s Presidential Elections Committee, formally conveyed the cancellation in a letter addressed to Boakye Agyarko.
During the NPP’s Super Delegates Congress, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia secured the highest votes, emerging as the top candidate among the five selected to participate in the party’s primaries scheduled for November 4.
The Super Delegates Congress was conducted to choose five presidential aspirants from a pool of ten candidates who had submitted their candidacies.
After collecting votes from all 17 polling centers across the country, Vice President Dr. Bawumia received 68.15% of the total votes cast, followed by Kennedy Agyapong, Member of Parliament for Assin Central, with 14.30%.
Alan Kyerematen, former Trades Minister, came third with 10.29%, and former Agriculture Minister Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto secured fourth place with 3.90%.
However, a tie emerged between Francis Addai-Nimoh and former Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko, both receiving 0.98% of the total votes cast.
Consequently, a run-off was scheduled for September 2 to determine the final candidate.
The decision by the National Council to constitute an electoral college comprised of its members to break the tie faced opposition from Boakye Agyarko.
He formally withdrew from the upcoming run-off election, citing unconstitutionality in the National Council’s decision to narrow down the selection process to a select few individuals, instead of considering all 955 individuals who participated in the first round.
Boakye Agyarko also argued that the establishment of a new electoral college violated the party’s constitution and raised additional legal concerns.