Justice Siaw Mandela, a political analyst, claims that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s delay in picking his running mate is politically harmful.
The analyst opined that it would have served the candidate a greater good if his running mate was part of his ongoing regional campaign tour.
The running mate he noted is someday who can equally ascend to the seat as president should the party win an election and the president is unable to perform his function properly.
He stated that it was prudent for the Vice President to choose his running mate and market him while on his campaign tour so that Ghanaians could know who he or she is, judge him or her, and learn about his or her degree of competency.
Speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he said the delay in announcing his running mate is not politically favourable.
“It is disturbing that the Vice President has not chosen a running mate. It would have been better if he had brought his running mate with him on his campaign tour. That would have had a significant impact because it would have allowed voters to get to know the running mate, analyse who he or she is, and determine whether he or she is qualified to be a running mate.
This is important because the running mate is a potential president should the party win an election. Anything can happen to a president, and the running mate can take over. If you are good as president and your running mate is incompetent, it will affect you. I would have preferred that he had selected his running mate so the person would be marketed.”
He further asserted that, in Ghana’s political history, Dr. Bawumia appears to be the only vice president to gain widespread support from the sitting president.
He said President Akufo-Addo’s support for Dr. Bawumia to take over from him is something we don’t usually witness in our political space.
“The support that Vice President Bawumia is receiving from President Akufo-Addo is a good sign. No vice president in history has received such widespread support from a president about to leave office. This will be advantageous for the Vice President.
He was, however, quick to add that the decision of who is capable of becoming the next president will be determined by the Ghanaian voters.
The 2024 general elections, he said, would be dynamic in the sense that this is the first time a ruling party has taken the breaking of the eight-year jinx more seriously, while the opposition has a candidate returning to secure the seat after serving only one term previously.
By: Rashid Obodai Provencal/Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
