Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., has questioned the rationale behind the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s decision to scout for potential parliamentary candidates ahead of the 2028 general elections instead of relying solely on the party’s established delegates system.
Mr Pratt argued that the proposed approach raises questions about the credibility of constituency delegates, who also participate in selecting the party’s flagbearer and national executives.
Speaking on Good Morning Ghana on November 11, he questioned why delegates considered competent to elect the party’s national leadership should be deemed incapable of selecting parliamentary candidates.
“You are saying that they have better judgment than the constituency executives and delegates. If delegates are not correct, then abandon the delegates system,” he said.
“It is the same delegates who ended up electing him (Bawumia) as flagbearer, the same delegates elected the same leadership of the party. But when it comes to the parliamentary candidate, those delegates may not be the best persons to elect parliamentary candidates. What are you talking about?” he queried.
Mr Pratt maintained that the NPP should adopt a consistent approach to selecting its candidates, arguing that the same principles applied in electing the flagbearer and national executives should guide the selection of parliamentary candidates.
His comments follow Dr Bawumia’s disclosure that the NPP has begun scouting for potential parliamentary candidates across constituencies as part of preparations for the 2028 general elections.
Dr Bawumia explained that the initiative is intended to identify individuals with strong prospects of winning parliamentary seats rather than relying exclusively on the outcome of internal primaries.
According to him, some aspirants may have the financial resources to win party primaries but may lack the electoral appeal required to win in the subsequent general elections.
“We are going to do a candidate search across all the constituencies, because some people can win parliamentary primaries because they have money, but they can’t win the general elections,” he said.
He warned that allowing such aspirants to emerge solely through the primary process could cost the party parliamentary seats.
“If you leave it to them, they will win the primary, but you’ve lost the seat,” he added.
Dr Bawumia further disclosed that the candidate search is already underway, with the party relying on multiple independent sources to assess potential candidates and compare their findings.
He said individuals identified through the exercise as having strong chances of winning particular constituencies could be approached and encouraged to contest on the NPP ticket.
“Because if we find out that this is the person who can win us the seat, we’ll persuade that person to come on board and help us to win the seat,” he said.
The NPP flagbearer also indicated that the party intends to complete its internal elections as early as possible ahead of the 2028 general elections.
