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“Hello Mr. Addai Twumasi. How are you? Very very well, this is Dr. Bawumia calling. I’m most grateful, I know… but it’s good to let you know that we are very appreciative of your support. God bless you. So Saturday, make it happen! Yes, get there early,” this is the Vice President’s phone call with a delegate a night to the NPP presidential primary.
The conversation has raised a lot of discussions with some people saying the Vice President is engaging in an exercise in futility since people might have already made their minds on whom to vote for and whom not to.
Also, his action appears bizarre for people who feel Dr. Bawumia cannot even speak to one tenth of the over 200,000 delegates between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.
But a senior Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Asah-Asante, commenting on the issue indicated that when it comes to elections, particularly in Ghana, “until the time that you’re told not to campaign, you must continue to campaign because some people can have a change of mind in the eleventh hour.
“In politics, the night before election is so crucial particularly so in Ghana where people can induce people, where people can influence people through money, gifts, and whatever. This is the time they do all that. So from now (Friday night) up to tomorrow morning (Saturday) things are likely to happen.”
“So when you see people campaigning vigorously trying to urge people to vote for them at the eleventh hour, that is what it means,” he told Alfred Ocansey Friday, November 3, 2023 on Ghana Tonight on TV3.
According to Dr. Asah-Asante, people can even change their minds at the booth making the last minute campaign a very necessary action.
“Nobody is leaving any stone unturned.
If you say people have made their minds already, [that’s not it] some people even make a change of their decisions at the poll, at the booth where they are about to cast their vote, then they change from one person in mind to another.
“So that assertion I don’t know where it is coming from that at this time, people have already made up their minds. Yes, to some people that’s true, but others, they are still looking around,” he explained.
The Vice President had gone ahead to phone a second delegate whose name he mentioned as Bismark.
During the conversation, Bismark’s reaction with some other people in his company at the time of the call was that of a shock when he was told the person speaking to him was no other person than the Vice President.
After sharing pleasantaries with him, Dr. Bawumia urged Bismark to cast his ballot for him which he responded in the affirmative.
“Hello, Bismark, how are you? I’m just surprising you with a call this afternoon. This is Dr. Bawumia….” to which he reacted with those who were with him in awe; ‘What!’
“Yes Bismark, it’s me. Just to tell you that I appreciate your support and I hope on Saturday you’ll go and get it done for us.
Thank you very much Bismark, keep up the fire burning, let’s get it done on Saturday. Get there on time,” the Veep continued.
Two Hundred and Four Thousand One Hundred and Forty Four (204,144) delegates are expected to vote today from 277 polling centres to elect the party’s flag bearer with 537 proxy voters.
Contesting for the position are Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Francis Addai-Nimoh and Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.
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