A Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana (UG) has warned aspiring flagbearers of the various political parties against complacency ahead of the 2024 general elections.

According to Prof Ransford Gyampo, they must endeavour to stave off complacency among themselves, saying any carelessness may hinder their victory over their fellow contenders within and outside their parties.

Despite several polls predicting electoral success for some individuals across the political divide, Prof Gyampo said the candidates should rather engage their delegates to enhance their prospects of winning.

“You will be living in a fool’s paradise to let one of the contenders think that ‘you are in a comfortable lead’ and you may not be doing much, and then others may also be working very hard,” he noted in an interview on Newsfile on Saturday.

Both in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), names of prospective flagbearers have emerged, indicating what is likely to be tight primaries in both parties.

For the NDC, many have tipped former President John Mahama to emerge as the party’s leader for the 2024 elections, while Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia is seemingly considered the next flagbearer for the NPP.

But Prof Gyampo stated that it might be too early for such projections as changes are bound to happen until each party makes the final decisions.

“Take note of this that the NDC is yet to elect its flagbearer. But, over the years, if you look at the competition between Atta-Mills and his closest contender, if you look at the competition between Mahama and those people who contested him, you’d see that Mills and Mahama have always gained resounding victory over their contenders.

“Yes, he [John Mahama] is indeed the great contender. He is very popular, but the point is that other people are also springing up within the political party who have also shown interest in contesting him,” he stressed.

In his view, “nobody should be swollen-headed, nobody should take some of these predictions so seriously.”

“You have to work on what matters most; work on your delegates who would decide who must lead the party,” he suggested.