The retention of virtually all of the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) regional chairs in the recently concluded regional executive elections "will not be a benefit" for the Party's two top flagbearer candidates, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and Mr Alan Kyeremanten.
Dr. Kobby Mensah, a Political Marketing Strategist, said that incumbent regional chairmen could not sway delegates' votes, adding that a variety of variables would affect their decision to vote for one candidate over another.
Dr. Mensah told the Ghana News Agency that the two top flagbearer candidates should focus on persuading the delegates, not the chairmen, of their electability. "I don't believe the job of Party Chairman will be advantageous or disadvantageous to any candidate." He claims that "the critical mass of individuals who appear to be aligned with a specific candidate is far more effective than merely the Party Chairman."
"It would be improper for us to infer that the fact that a number of incumbent chairmen have been retained may signify that it is in favor of a candidate," Dr. Mensah remarked. You'd rather look at a broad topic of discussion to have a sense of how it'll proceed."
Over the weekend, the NPP held regional executive elections in 15 of the country's 16 regions. Due to a court order, the Central Region election, which was scheduled for Friday, May 27, 2022, has been postponed until further notice.
With the exception of the Western North Region, when incumbent Regional Chairman William Benjamin Assuah lost to Benjamin Armah, all 14 regional chairman kept their positions.
Some political pundits speculated that Dr Bawumia's retention of a majority of regional chairmen was in his favor since they formed "the winning squad" that ensured the NPP's victory in the 2020 national election.
Dr. Mensah, on the other hand, called the recommendations "unacceptable" and encouraged the Party's leadership to take action to remedy them.
He believes that the assumption that a candidate's success at the grassroots will favor another candidate at the national level indicates that the internal party process "is not transparent" and will fuel division in the party.
"This is why people want their own individuals in positions, and this reveals the Party's own problem."
"...if individuals don't trust the rules of engagement, they'd rather have their own personnel so they can be certain of their own viewpoints," he added.
If nothing changes, the NPP's National Executive Elections will be held in Accra from July 15 to 17, 2022, to pick executives to lead the party in the next years. According to the Party's constitution, the presidential candidate for the 2024 elections will be chosen the following year, a year before the general election.