11,853 vote in the Northern Region, delegates see election as ‘endorsement exercise’

A total of 11,853 delegates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are voting in the party’s presidential primaries in the Northern Region.

The delegates, who are made up of polling stations, constituency and regional executives as well as national council representatives, are voting to elect a Presidential candidate for the NPP ahead of the 2024 General Elections.

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Assin Central MP, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Former Agric Minister, Dr Afriyie Akoto and Francis Addai Nimo are contesting in the primaries.

Tamale Central

In the Tamale Central Constituency where over 800 delegates are voting, security has been tight, even though the process has been smooth so far.

The Mayor of Tamale and Aspiring Parliamentary Candidate of Tamale Central Constituency, Mr Sule Salifu told the media after casting his vote that he was sure Dr Bawumia would win convincingly.

He said that the Vice President was the best to lead the party to break the 8 and improve the lives of Ghanaians.

Mr Salifu said through the efforts of the Vice President, the five regions of the north were going to benefit heavily from the recently launched Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) project which he noted will offer employment opportunities for young people in the area.

He thus urged delegates to vote massively for Dr Bawumia to continue his good works.

Yendi Constituency

In the Yendi Constituency where 785 delegates are voting in the primaries, some of the delegates who spoke to GhanaWeb said they saw the exercise as a “mere endorsement exercise”.

According to them, they were going to ensure that Dr Bawumia was given 100% endorsement.

“We are here to endorse Dr Bawumia. This is just a mere endorsement exercise and so, you can see that everything is smooth here. Whether you belong to Hajia Habiba [CEO of MASLOC] or Farouk [Aliu Mahama, MP for Yendi], we are all voting for Bawumia” one delegate told GhanaWeb.

Across the region, turnout was poor during the early hours of the elections; however, turnout has significantly improved as the day progresses.

Dr Bawumia is expected to win convincingly in the region, except for the Tamale South and North Constituencies, where Mr Agyapong is said to have some support base there.

In Tamale North, the Constituency Chairman, known popularly as Chairman Short has openly declared support for the Assin Central MP.

His public utterances have also caused a lot of tensions between him and party regional executives, who have also openly declared their support for the Vice President.