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Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom
Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom

PPP names running mate today

The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) will today present a female running mate to partner its flag bearer, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, to contest the 2016 presidential election.

This event will take place at the PPP Headquarters at Asylum Down in Accra.

In line with the party’s all-inclusive agenda, the running mate  is not a card-bearing member of the party but is expected to come from either the Greater Accra or the Northern region. 

The Volta Region cannot be discounted, though.

Ms Eva Lokko

The candidate, however, will not be Ms Eva Lokko, an illustrious Ga who partnered Dr Nduom in the 2012 presidential election. 

Rather, as part of efforts to promote Ga leadership in the PPP, it should not surprise political pundits when the party, once again, as it did in 2012, falls on a capable Ga to partner Dr Nduom.

The party, meanwhile, is strategically positioning Ms Lokko, being a capable, competent, disciplined and principled leader from the Ga State, to contest and annex the Klottey Korle seat which has been occupied by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Multiple sources close to the party confirmed that the PPP had a special affinity for women empowerment and was committed to living by that.

Before the party decided on the nominee for the running mate position, the leadership had rallied around the theme: “Responsibility of finalising the choice’’.

Tight-lipped

When the Daily Graphic contacted Dr Nduom, who was endorsed as the party’s flag bearer on July 16, 2016, he was tight-lipped over the issue, but when pressed further, he stated: “I am going to surprise Ghanaians, as I did in 2012 with Ms Lokko, with another formidable, competent and capable running mate to complete my ticket for the presidency.”

When the PPP introduces its running mate today, it will be the third political party to name its running mate for the 2016 polls. 

The flag bearer of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, was the first to name his running mate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, on October 23, 2014, while President John Dramani Mahama followed suit by naming Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur on December 7, 2015. 

While Dr Nduom is changing his running mate, both the NDC and the NPP have maintained their running mates since 2012. It will, therefore, be interesting to see how the new face will boost the chances of the PPP in the 2016 elections.

Impressive start for PPP

In the 2012 elections, the PPP filed the third highest number of parliamentary candidates, 211, with the NDC and the NPP  filing in all the 275 constituencies.

That was seen as impressive on the part of the PPP, considering the fact that the party was formed in February 2012 and had, within a period of six months, succeeded in fielding 211 candidates when other parties that had been in the system for a longer time could not achieve that feat.

PPP 2016 Campaign 

For this year’s polls, the PPP national presidential campaign has already taken off with a high sense of urgency. It  was officially kicked off at the party’s national convention held on July 16, 2016, during which Dr Nduom was confirmed as the party's presidential candidate. 

The campaign train has already been to the Volta, Western, Greater Accra and Central regions to introduce parliamentary candidates of the party to the people.

The PPP, by its impressive outings, has come very far in the very short period of its existence and is working assiduously to become the party of choice and a credible alternative to the NPP and the NDC.  

It has signalled to reintroduce the "Yeresesa mu" slogan for the party’s 2016 presidential and parliamentary campaign and  hinted to start a vigorous campaign this month, during which it will propagate its 10-point agenda to Ghanaians.and it intends to officially launch a national campaign between August and September.

 

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