Dr Bryan Acheampong’s entry into the New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s flagbearer race did not unsettle Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s support base, according to Dennis Miracles Aboagye, an aide to the NPP’s flagbearer.
Mr Aboagye said the former Agriculture Minister’s entrance instead fractured Kennedy Agyapong’s core backing.
“We always knew that Bryan Acheampong’s entering into the race was surely going to hurt Kennedy Agyapong more than Dr Bawumia,” he said.
Speaking on Channel One TV on Sunday, Mr Aboagye dismissed suggestions that Acheampong’s strong showing was a surprise, arguing that internal party dynamics made the outcome predictable.
“No, we are not,” he said when asked if Dr Acheampong’s performance shocked the Bawumia camp.
He explained that the NPP operates along ideological lines, with voting blocs that often move together regardless of personalities.
“The NPP has an existing system within the party,” he said. “The NPP is a party of ideologies.”
According to him, party members tend to form stable groups at the constituency and polling station levels, creating predictable voting patterns.
“You would always find some seven people who always think alike and move together and act together,” he said.
Mr Aboagye argued that this structure worked in Dr Bawumia’s favour, as his supporters remained firm throughout the contest.
“The Bawumia supporters are more static,” he said. “They are a bit more stable than the other candidates.”
He said Kennedy Agyapong’s support base was vulnerable to division, especially after the political realignments following the 2023 race.
“The supporters of Kennedy Agyapong were not necessarily loyalists of Kennedy Agyapong,” he said.
He linked this to events following Alan Kyerematen’s exit from the race.
“Especially what happened in 2023 when Alan Kyerematen left, they all consolidated around him,” he said.
According to Mr Aboagye, once Dr Bryan Acheampong emerged as a fresh alternative, that coalition began to fracture.
“So once they get another alternative in Dr Bryan Acheampong, you could see them splitting,” he said.
He said the impact of that split was evident in the final numbers.
Mr Aboagye cited the widening gap between Dr Bawumia and the runner-up as evidence.
“Now, Dr Bawumia, the difference between him and the second-place person has moved to 33 per cent if you compare to 2023,” he said.
The comments come in the wake of Dr Bawumia’s decisive victory in the NPP flagbearer contest.
The former Vice President was declared the winner by the Electoral Commission after securing 56.48 per cent of the total votes cast, clinching the party’s ticket for the 2028 general elections.
Former Assin Central MP Kennedy Agyapong placed second with 46,554 votes, representing 23.76 per cent.
Dr Bryan Acheampong, contesting for the first time, polled over 30,000 votes, a performance that reshaped the internal dynamics of the race but, according to the Bawumia camp, left the eventual winner largely untouched.
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