A political scientist specializing in democracy and development and a fellow at CDD-Ghana, Dr John Osae-Kwapong, has highlighted the possibility of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) re-nominating or maintaining Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as their presidential candidate in the next general election.

Dr Bawumia, the NPP's presidential candidate, lost to the opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), in the recent parliamentary and presidential elections held on Saturday.

Speaking in an interview on the AM Show on Friday, December 13, Dr Osae-Kwapong suggested that there is a significant chance the party may give Dr Bawumia another opportunity, depending on how they assess the outcome of the 2024 election.

"They probably can, again depending on how they make sense of the 2024 election. Some of the sentiments you’ve already seen are that the NDC didn’t win, we lost. So, if that is their interpretation, then the calculus could be: how do we get our voters back to go and vote for us with Dr Bawumia as the candidate? They could make that calculation and say, well, let’s give him another chance," he stated.

On the other hand, Dr Osae-Kwapong pointed out that the NPP may opt to change their candidate, depending on the performance of the next administration and the candidate the opposition may present for the 2024 election.

“Because John Mahama only has one term, it makes the 2028 dynamics also intriguing,” he added.

He emphasized the importance of the NPP learning from their mistakes and working to correct them, based on the lessons they’ve learned.

He also noted that the candidate they choose to present in the next election will be crucial.