Boakye Agyarko, an aspirant for the flagbearer position of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), has chosen to abstain from participating in a run-off election scheduled to resolve a tie between himself and another contender, Francis Addai-Nimoh, on Saturday, September 2, 2023.
In a letter addressed to Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, Chairman of the NPP’s Presidential Elections Committee, dated Wednesday, August 30, 2023, Agyarko expressed his reluctance to partake in what he deemed an unjust disruption of a previously agreed-upon process.
He explained that he couldn’t, in good conscience, concede to an unexpected decision and thus would not be participating in the upcoming contest.
The NPP had recently held a super delegates conference to narrow down the field of flagbearer hopefuls from ten to five. Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia emerged as the winner of this conference with 68.15% of the vote. Kennedy Agyapong and Alan Kyerematen secured second and third places, respectively, with Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto coming fourth.
As a result of the tie between the two fifth-placed candidates, a run-off was declared to take place on September 2, 2023, to decide the fate of Boakye Agyarko and Francis Addai-Nimoh, both of whom received nine votes.
During discussions on the matter, it was decided that the National Council members of the NPP would cast their votes to determine the winner of the run-off, with the intention of saving time and expenses.
However, Agyarko vehemently opposed this approach, saying it violated the party’s constitution.
He contended that allowing a subset of the Special Electoral College (consisting of about 135 National Council members) to decide on behalf of the 955 delegates who participated in the first round was unconstitutional and against the principles of fairness and justice.
“It is totally unconstitutional that a sub-section (about 135 National Council members) of the Special Electoral College should assume the function on behalf of the 955 delegates who voted in the first round.”
“It is totally unacceptable to me that such an unconstitutional act can be perpetuated on the altar of expediency. Am I to surmise that the party did not know the cost implication? It is unconscionable that the rules of the game will be changed midstream. Rules and regulations that are flip-flopped in such a manner are only detrimental to fair play and justice. It is a clear violation of the party’s constitution and the guidelines for the Special Electoral College. It is an unconstitutional act which I cannot allow myself to be associated with,” he added.
