Author: Dr. John Osae-Kwapong, Democracy and Development Fellow, CDD-Ghana, and Project Director, the Democracy Project

Dr. Bawumia gets the nod to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as flagbearer for the 2028 elections. He emerged winner of the party’s primary last Saturday by securing 56.5% of the votes cast by the delegates. This was a hard-won victory because this primary was surely a race characterized by several moments of intense political rivalry.

Before I proceed, let me commend the party for a well-organized and incident-free primary. For all the intense competition, harsh rhetoric, and occasional mudslinging, it was quite a relief to observe how it all ended on a very high note.

Now comes the next hurdle. With a victory secured and a second chance given to him, the next real tasks begin – reorganizing the party and developing a campaign narrative convincing enough for Ghanaians to also give him a chance, just as the NPP delegates have.

The Second Chance – Reorganizing the Party

There are three main tasks, I believe confront Dr. Bawumia where the party itself is concerned. First is the issue of unity, a recurring theme in many of the post primary analysis. I do agree that a united party is important after such a brawling contest. The concession of defeat and pledge of support for the candidate and party by the losing contestants are helpful early signals in achieving unity.

The pledge of unity and support must also come from the supporters of the losing candidates. Whatever the grievance, the point worth emphasizing as part of the unity exercise is – party first. As the former president said, “the party is bigger than any one individual.”

Second, is the election of new officers at all levels of the party structure. It will be instructive to see how the contest plays. Hopefully, it does not become an extension of the primary contest in the sense that candidates who contest national, regional, constituency, etc., positions would be seen as people striving to serve the party and not the candidates they supported during the primary.

In the end, these officers will be the ones ensuring that the party infrastructure is deployed to support Dr. Bawumia’s second chance. Third, and flowing from especially the second point, is how victory is used to influence the election of party executives. Given how the primary evolved, there may be the temptation to ensure that the next set of party executives demonstrate loyalty to the elected flagbearer.

This temptation can drive the adoption of unhealthy tactics that may further undermine the call for unity. Whatever the case may be, fairness and impartiality must prevail while constantly reminding all and sundry that a strong party ready to context 2028 requires a “party’s interest first” mindset.

The Second Chance – Preparing for the 2028 Election

Election 2028 is three full calendar years away. The candidate, therefore, has enough time to prepare and strategize to see if he can convince enough Ghanaians to get him past the finish line of 50% plus one vote. I just hope that it does not become three too long years of campaigning to a point where political fatigue sets in. But I am sure the candidate himself is fully aware of this and knows best how to manage the three years.

The other real big task is the candidate’s overarching narrative for 2028. Of course, there are several unknowns at this point – a) the state of the economy in 2028, b) who the NDC’s flagbearer will be; c) governance challenges that may emerge; d) post-regime accountability outcomes for those who served in the NPP administration; e) the disposition of the Ghanaian voter; etc. All these unknowns will shape the candidate’s narrative.

There are many things I would like to see Dr. Bawumia do. An immediate one is this – to develop an overarching narrative that reconciles these things: a) the 2016 election narrative; b) the economic challenges faced; c) his role in the Akufo-Addo administration; d) the 2024 rejection of the NPP and by default him; and e) what a Bawumia administration would look like.

Yes, it is a tall list and not a simple task. But this is the burden that comes with being the one chosen to help a political party win power. What I see such a narrative doing is enabling him a) fully make peace with the past; b) collective ownership of the outcome of not just the Akufo-Addo years of which he served as Vice-President but also the 2024 election and c) avoid, in my opinion, the sometimes different narratives heard during the primary as to how much agency he had or not during the previous administration.

And if I may add a small footnote – I’d like him to consider modifying the people who will be the official faces and voices of his 2028 campaign. Congratulations and good luck.