According to pollster Ben Ephson, Assin Central MP Kennedy Agyapong, who recently stated his intention to run for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer post, has an edge over Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen, who is also interested in being the ruling party’s torchbearer.
Kennedy Agyapong, a businessman, is more popular in the party, according to Mr Ephson, than Mr Kyerematen.
On Tuesday, May 31, Ben Ephson, who is also the Managing Editor of the Daily Dispatch, remarked on TV3’s New Day with Berla Mundi, “I believe Ken is extremely popular in the party, he has joined [the race]relatively late, but I think Kennedy has an edge that Alan doesn’t have.”
“We’re talking about members of the party electing a flagbearer. Alan would have given Bawumia a run for his money if he had entered Parliament in 2007, as Kennedy did for his sixth term. Despite losing as a running mate in 2007 and 2012, Bawumia remained active in the party. Kennedy is running for re-election, and the individuals who will vote for him will be members of his own party.”
On Monday, May 16, Mr. Kennedy Agyapong announced his intention to run for office on his television network.
The NPP will choose its flagbearer for the upcoming elections next year.
In reference to the internal elections, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has instructed the NPP leadership to ensure that the election of the presidential candidate is conducted fairly.
Fairness, he said, would decrease the number of schisms that would arise in the party as a consequence of the battle.
Mr. Akufo-Addo said that, as with any competition, there would be disagreements within the party after the internal votes. He did say, though, that the individual chosen to be the flagbearer should be able to bring all of the fronts together.
“I’m hopeful that the equal playing field that enables us to pick our next president will also offer us a candidate who can bring our party together.” Because competition will certainly generate some differences within the party, we as the governing party have the obligation to behave ourselves in such a manner that fissures are minimized.
“Cracks in the NPP may reflect on the state; we are the governing party, and if our base, which is our party, is broken, that fracture can translate into splitting the state, which no one wants,” he stated last year on Accra’s Peace FM.