Akufo-Addo files nomination and names Bawumia as running mate

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Thursday [February 20, 2020] filed his nomination form at the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) headquarters in Accra and stated that the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, will certainly be his running mate when he is endorsed by the party to be the flagbearer for the  2020 presidential election.

According to the President, there was no need thinking about who to select as his running mate aside from Dr Bawumia.

The President stated this after filing his nomination form to enable him to lead the party for the general election in December 2020.

Before he got to the party’s head office, hundreds of NPP supporters, clad in the party’s colours, had taken over the headquarters of the party singing and dancing to party songs.

The crowd went agog when the President arrived to file his nomination forms.

The president was accompanied by the Vice-President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Members of Parliament (MPs), particularly those in the Greater Accra Region, as well as all 16 regional chairmen of the party and some senior members of the party.

He was received by the Chairman of the party, Mr Freddie Blay, and the General Secretary, Mr John Boadu, as well as other executive members of the party.

Background

The Director of Research at the Presidency, Mr Victor Newman, on January 27, 2020 picked the nomination form on behalf of the President to begin his bid to lead the party.

So far, it is only President Akufo-Addo who has picked and filed his nomination form.

The party closed picking and filing of nomination yesterday.

In line with the party’s constitution, the president, being the sole contestant in the presidential primaries, is expected to be acclaimed as the party’s 2020 flag bearer at a national congress to be held simultaneously across the country on April 25, 2020.

When acclaimed, the President will be seeking his second term bid in the 2020 presidential election.

Like his predecessor in the NPP, former President John Agyekum Kufuor did not also face any challenge when he decided to lead the NPP into the 2004 elections.

Honour

Addressing the party's supporters and officials after filing his nomination form, President Akufo-Addo thanked the party members for reposing their trust and confidence in him to lead the party in the 2020 general election.

He said the decision by other equally qualified party members not to pick forms to contest him but to allow him to lead the party was an honour done him.

He disclosed that when given the nod at the party’s national congress, he would retain his Vice-President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, as his running mate.

Register

He said although the party’s track record was visible for all to see, the party still needed to put in more effort to get a resounding victory in the 2020 general election, particularly the presidential election.

President Akufo-Addo thus urged the party faithful to take keen interest in the upcoming voters’ registration.

He said it was only when the party supporters registered that they would be enabled to vote in the elections, hence contributing to the party’s victory.

He also charged all party members to ensure that anyone who qualified to register was helped to get registered during the registration exercise.

Primaries

Touching on the upcoming parliamentary primaries, President Akufo-Addo urged all stakeholders, particularly party members, to ensure that the exercise was conducted in an orderly manner in order not to destroy the gains the party had made.

He said the party needed unity to win the 2020 general election, and that anything that would derail the unity in the party ought to be avoided.

Concerning the chances of the party, the president said the former administration that the NPP party took over from in the 2016 general election did not do anything to deserve another term in the 2020 elections.

According to him, it was only the NPP that presented a better option to develop the country, hence calling on the electorate to give the party another term to rule the country.

He said the party needed another term to finish its projects and initiatives.

Secretary

The party’s General Secretary, Mr John Boadu, said the President had fulfilled all requirements concerning picking and filing of the nomination form.

He said the President provided all relevant documents, including his birth certificate, as well as a banker’s draft of GH¢200,000 in the party’s name as his filing fee.