A flagbearer hopeful of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Mr.Boakye Agyarko has described the super delegates election concept in its current form as “bloody waste of time”.
He said even though the intention of the framers of the provision of the super delegates election to prune and make the process less chaotic is laudable, the implementation of the provision is a complete waste of time stating that ,a better statistical method can be deployed to achieve same result at once.
Boakye Agyarko said this Saturday August 26, 2023 when speaking to the media in Koforidua after casting his vote in the super delegates election.
“This process is not to select a winner. I was one of the original drafters of this provision out of the Heyman committee. It was never intended to produce a winner. It was intended to select five people to represent the party going forward so therefore if after today let say that one person gets hundred percent, there will be a rerun to add four more and if the second rerun only produces another 100% there will be a third rerun. We will rerun until we get five. Why is that?.
He continued “the system is intended to produce five people and not declare a winner .so if today three people get positive number and the rest get zero ,next week the party is going to run another election to select two to join the three. To me, it is a bloody waste of time. There is a more statistical way of doing it to make sure it is done once a for all but be that as it may, it is where we are”.
He said the super delegates election is not to produce a winner but only to downsize for over 208,000 delegates take decision on them.
He therefore averred, it is illegitimate, suggestions that candidate who secures highest vote in the super delegates election be considered to be automatic flagbearer.
“Since it is not to produce a winner, the intention out of the Heyman committee which I was a member was not that the special delegates will select a candidate for the party .That mandate is given to the voters who will number 208000 plus.
So you cannot have 956 people select for that 200,000 it is illegitimate. The intention of the Heyman committee in the drafting of the provision is that the pruning down is to make the process less chaotic but the five people must proceed therefore to the general population for them to select the leader of the party. That is the process. I hear all manner of speculations either out of ignorance or willful distortion to misinform”.
Boakye Agyarko stated that even the decentralization of the super delegates election was misinterpretation of the provision which states in clear language that, “a venue” must be selected for the exercise not “venues” .
The NPP has disclosed that a run-off will be held on Saturday, September 2, to decide the fate of Boakye Agyarko and Francis Addai-Nimoh after both presidential candidates secured nine (9) votes in last Saturday’s super delegates conference if none steps down by Tuesday.
The Special Delegates Conference was organised to shortlist five candidates out of the ten for the ultimate on November 4, 2023, but but the tie between Boakye Agyarko and Addai Nimo has not enabled the party get the fifth candidate hence the intended runoff for the two.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia occupied the top spot in the super delegates conference with a total of 629 votes, representing 68.15% of the vote.
Assin Central MP Kennedy Agyapong came in second with 132 votes, or 14.30% while former Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen placed third with 95 votes, or 10.29%.
Dr. Bawumia and Kennedy Agyapong are contesting the flagbearer position in the NPP for the first time.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Kojo Ansah
