Dr Bryan Acheampong, the Member of Parliament for Abetifi and New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential hopeful, has shockingly stated that the party had a candidate challenge in the 2024 election.
The NPP flagbearer hopeful noted that the 2024 election outcome highlighted the deeper weaknesses within the party.
According to Dr Acheampong, the NPP went into the 2024 elections with a governance challenge and also a candidate challenge.
He detailed that the governance challenge was evident in the discrepancy between the performance of parliamentary candidates and that of the party’s presidential candidate.
Speaking on Face to Face on Channel One TV on Tuesday, December 23, stated, “We went to the 2024 elections, and the results that came out portrayed two things. We had a governance challenge, and we also had a candidate challenge”.
“And the governance challenge was seen from the performance of the parliamentary candidates’ level. And if you come to the presidential candidate [Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia], in most constituencies of this country, the parliamentary candidates did far better than the presidential candidate in the same constituencies, in the same elections, in the same political party,” he stated.
He added, “In my case, I did better than my presidential candidate”.
“In Okaikwei South, the parliamentary candidate lost by about 5,000 votes, while the presidential candidate lost by roughly 11,000 votes,” he noted.
“And that almost cuts across the whole country. If you put all the parliamentary results together, it beat the presidential candidate by almost 350,000 votes. This has never happened in the country before,” he said.
Also, Dr Bryan Acheampong cautioned the party that they cannot repeat Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as the flagbearer of the party ahead of the 2028 elections.
The Abetifi lawmaker detailed that the results in the 2024 elections show that maintaining the same candidate will not change the NPP’s fortunes.
Dr Acheampong stressed that the results of the 2024 elections should inform the party’s decisions ahead of 2028.
He stated, “If you go into the 2024 elections results, you cannot repeat a candidate. Not much will change”
He, however, noted that Ghanaians will forgive the NPP for its wrongs in the past, just like they forgave the NDC, but the NPP have a candidate challenge the party cannot overcome.
“Ghanaians will forgive our party [NPP] for a lot of the wrongs it did in the past, because they forgave the NDC. It will forgive NPP. But we have a candidate challenge that we may not be able to surmount. Leadership inspires hope,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Dr Acheampong has revealed he has privately urged Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to bow out of the January 31 primaries.
According to Dr Bryan Acheampong, his appeal was based on the structural challenges within the party.
He stressed the structural challenges within the party could undermine the NPP’s chances if Dr Bawumia lead the party in the 2028 election.
Speaking in an interview on Good Evening Ghana with Paul Adom-Otchere on Thursday, December 18 stated, “Those structural challenges are in addition to what he Mussa Dankwah does not know, the ones that I compiled and reached out to the candidate and said ‘look we will have challenges if we continue like this and therefore if you consider the interest of the party and bow out, that will be great for us so that we can find a new candidate and press on.’
“But then also the perceived division, the supporters of himself and that of Kennedy Agyapong were emerging. It was very clear to me that it was going to take us into 2028, and it will not give us the opportunity of winning that election, and you know if we do not win, we are in serious trouble,” he stated.
Dr Bryan Acheampong had earlier backed Dr Bawumia during the 2023 flagbearer contest, but has since withdrawn despite Former Second Lady Samira Bawumia’s attempts to persuade him to remain with her husband’s campaign.