A Senior Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Kwame Asah-Asante, has raised concerns over the New Patriotic Party (NPP)'s flagbearer's delay in announcing a running mate for the 2024 election.

According to him, although a comprehensive and broader consultation before announcing the running mate is important, the prolonged delay could pose challenges for the party.

He is therefore urging Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to quickly name his running mate.

“The party must be mindful of the fact that time is not on their side. Yes, you want to consult broadly but you can’t spend all your life on that. By now, they should be out with a candidate who has all the qualities that they want so that it doesn’t delay the campaign unnecessarily.

“If you wait, the issue is that you bring the person in, then the person now comes to face a campaign already set in motion. People will now want to scrutinize the person, they will want to assess the person, and they will want to throw all manner of things at the person and that is the best means by which you can see how best you can shepherd your candidate and then prepare him/her for the task ahead. I think the delay is becoming too much. I think the party must quickly come out with a running mate,” he said in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM.

Per the NPP’s constitution, a running mate is to be selected 12 months before a major election if the President is not the candidate.

Following Dr Bawumia’s election as flagbearer on November 4, 2023, he was expected to name his running mate on December 6, 2023.

However, at a crunch meeting with the National Executive Council (NEC), he requested an extension of time for further consultations on the choice of running mate.