Until anybody else comes out to contest him as the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s flagbearer, President Akufo Addo has confirmed his incumbency by submitting his nomination forms today.
He filed the forms immediately after he delivered the State of the Nation Address (SONA) which was marred by the Minority walkout. His forms were received at the party’s headquarters by National Chairman Freddie Blay.
The President at the close of nominations is currently the sole candidate to have picked up nomination forms to stand on the ticket of the ruling party. It is unclear if he will be challenged by anybody within the party, as the ruling party cracks down on people challenging some incumbents across the country.
Late January 2020, the President’s Special Advisor Victor Newman picked up the forms for President Akufo Addo.
“He has satisfied the first rule to paying the ¢20,000 in the party’s name and we expect that before February 20, he will be able to finish filling the forms and present it with the ¢200,000 filing fees,” said John Boadu, the General Secretary of the NPP.
“If it turns out that by close of nominations only one person who picks the form, a national congress will be organised for that one person to be acclaimed,” he explained.
If nobody comes forward, President Akufo Addo will once more be facing his arch-rival from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama in the December 2020 presidential elections.
This will be the third time both candidates would be clashing, both having beaten each other equally. The third time will be the tie-breaker in the high-stake December elections.