lawmakers of NPP compete who to be Bawumia's running partner.

Members of Parliament for the New Patriotic Party are fiercely competing to be the running mate of the party's recently elected flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

Following the flagbearership poll, governing party MPs have been debating his pick on the opening day of parliament, with multiple alliances emerging to support the different names that have surfaced.

The names that have surfaced thus far are, the Minister of Energy;  Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh; Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu the majority leader; Joseph Osei Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker; and Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education.

In interviews with JoyNews, a few lawmakers stated that Dr. Bawumia shouldn't be coerced into choosing a running mate for the 2024 election.

Frank Annoh-Dompreh, the Majority Chief Whip, stated, "I think it is the exclusive decision of the flagbearer in consultation with the National Council and that has been the tradition and I want to respect that. I don't have the mandate to determine who becomes the running mate."

He feels that even if every name that has been suggested thus far is excellent, the Lord will choose the chosen one.

Similar thoughts were expressed by Abu Jinapor, the Minister of Lands, who said, "..who the candidate is comfortable with and secondly who can help him, complement the ticket to make his triumph much
easier than it would have been. 

thirdly, the candidate's preferred person, and Personally, I would back whoever he chooses.

There is a general consensus, according to a different NPP MP, that the running mate ought to be an Ashanti native.

According to Kwadaso MP Kingsley Nyarko, the NPP's electoral success is largely dependent on the Ashanti region.

"I don't think it is out of place to get someone from the region; there are a lot of competent personalities there." Though I believe having a running mate from the Ashanti area will be a step in the right direction, he [Dr. Bawumia] is free to select the running mate from any other region.