Vice President of the Republic and presidential candidate hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia says he is a grassroots candidate and not an establishment candidate as his opponents want Ghanaians to believe.
He made the observation today, Thursday, 2 November 2023, when he interacted with a select group of media practitioners at his official residence at Cantonment as the last activity to wrap up his campaign for the flagbearership of the NPP for election 2024.
Dedicated service
Dr Bawumia in his interaction with the press noted that “throughout the [campaign] process, he has come to know the party people even better and that, it is his firm belief that since he has been at this [the campaign] for over 15 years now, since 2008, he can confidently say that he has been dealing with the NPP grassroots for a considerable length of time.
“Many people don’t actually appreciate that I have been campaigning in constituencies, sleeping in constituencies for the last 15 years. I’m very well known. I’ve been dealing with the grassroots, solving their problems for over 15 years, even when we were in opposition.
“And so, there is a closeness that I have to the grassroots that many of my competitors don’t have. You get to a place and someone will bring you a picture you took in 2008 and tell you, this is us together, and all of that” the Vice President said.
“So, I have this affinity with the grassroots of the party. And basically, this is one of the reasons why I believe that I am more of a grassroots candidate than an establishment candidate” Dr Bawumia added.
Grassroots connection
In his statement, the Vice President said his grassroots connection will be reflected in the outcome of the Saturday, 4 November polls when the results are announced by the Electoral Commission (EC).
“That [Bawumia’s grassroots connection] will come through, I believe, on Saturday. I think that is one thing we should look out for because over 98% of the delegates are the grassroots.
“These are the electoral area coordinators and polling station executives. So, the election is really going to be a simple test of what the grassroots thinks about all the candidates” Bawumia remarked.
“We’ve gone through ups and downs in the party. But the bottom line is that I believe I’m more popular with the grassroots than with the establishment, and that I want to see come through on Saturday” the Vice President further remarked.
Confident of victory
Vice President Bawumia indicated in his statement that after visiting all 275 constituencies in the country and meeting with the party’s delegates in these constituencies, he is confident of a resounding victory in the 4 November internal presidential primaries of the NPP.
“There are many fond memories of this journey that will go a long way to deepen the respect, love, and harmony between me and the people of our party. Having put up a spirited campaign backed by a dedicated team of brilliant and hardworking young men and women across the country, have nothing but absolute confidence” Dr Bawumia said.
“Insha Allah, I will be victorious on Saturday, November 4, and my victory will be a victory for the NPP. After this, that is, (after 4 November), I will shortly through the media, outline my vision and plans that I have to better the lives of all of us in Ghana,” the Vice President added.
Bawumia’s political brief
President Akufo-Addo first chose Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia as his running mate on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), for the December 2008 presidential elections.
He maintained him for the December 2012 elections. In both polls, they lost the election narrowly to John Evans Atta Mills (2008) and John Dramani Mahama (2012)
In 2016 and again in 2020, President Akufo-Addo and his running mate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia won both elections and the two have worked together as President and Vice President the last six years and 10 months.
Currently, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, is contesting three other aspirants in the upcoming NPP internal presidential primaries which comes off on Saturday 4 November 2023, for the flagbearership slot of the NPP ahead of the December 2024 general elections.
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has been projected by several independent polls to win the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) flagbearership race by up to 78% of the valid votes expected to be cast by the over 200,000 delegates who will be participating in the constituency based polls.
Credit: Asaaseradio
