It appears ‘reasonable, sensible’ to select Bawumia’s running mate from Ashanti Region – Mike Oquaye

There seems to be a growing interest for the running mate of the New Patriotic party to come from the bread basket of the NPP, the Ashanti Region.

That's the assertion of a former speaker of Parliament and a member of the governing New Patriotic Party's Council of Elders, Prof Aaron Michael Oquaye.

In an exclusive interview with 3News' Beatrice Adu, Professor Oquaye revealed that there seems to be a positive response to selecting someone from the Ashanti Region.

“It appears that there is a feeling generally that if we had a candidate from the Ashanti Region,…the bread basket of the party, it will be reasonable and sensible to balance the ticket. Therefore, it is important to factor that into the equation….,” he suggested.

Although, there does not seem to be any express provision in the NPP's constitution that makes it mandatory for the appointment of running mates to be done to achieve regional balance, by convention and custom practiced over time, the party has chosen candidates for regional balance.

Typical examples are from Albert Adu Boahen who chose a running mate from the north (Roland Issifu Alhassan), former President John Kufour who picked Aliu Mahama and the current President Nana Akufo Addo who chose Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

Clause six(b) of Chapter six (6) of Ghana's 1992 Constitution also emphasizes the need for example, the head of state to “achieve reasonable regional and gender balance in recruitment and appointment to public offices”.

Professor Oquaye asked the potential candidate not to compete with the president in waiting.

‘'The vice president should be someone who is not looking out for the boss' job; a person who is also not going to work like a co-president….that there will be no clash of personalities,” he advised.

By Beatrice Adu

The post It appears ‘reasonable, sensible’ to select Bawumia’s running mate from Ashanti Region – Mike Oquaye first appeared on 3News - First In News | Ghana News Updates.

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