Mr Peter Mac Manu, leader of the 2020 national campaign team of the governing New Patriotic
Credible information available to the Daily Statesman indicates that the governing New Patriotic Party has picked a five-member national campaign team to spearhead its bid to retain power in the upcoming December 7 general elections.
The team will be led by the party’s 2016 Campaign Manager, Peter Mac Manu, a former National Chairman of the party, and he will be assisted by three people. These are Lord Commey, Director of Operations, Office of the President, a former National Organiser of the party; Dr Abdul-Hamid Mustapha, Minister of Zongo and Inner Cities Development, a former National Youth Organiser of the party; and Dr Afua Asabea Asare, Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Export Promotions Authority.
Another member of the team is the party’s General Secretary, John Boadu, who retains his previous position as the officer in charge of logistics. He will be assisted by the party’s National Organiser, Sammi Awuku.
The five-member campaign team is expected to form committees to help them in securing victory for the party in the December presidential and parliamentary elections.
Sources within the party say the party was planning a Special National Delegates’ Conference to outdoor the team, together with its 2020 parliamentary and presidential candidates, but had to hold on due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and the restrictions imposed by the government to contain the spread of the disease.
Due to the pandemic, the party has not selected parliamentary candidates in constituencies with sitting NPP MPs. It has also not elected its presidential candidate. President Nana Akufo-Addo is the only aspirant for the presidential nomination.
Winning team
Mr Mac Manu, as the Campaign Manager, comes into the position with a depth of experience, having led the party to secure an overwhelming electoral victory in 2016. He has served as the party’s representative at the Electoral Commission’s Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) for several years, and is regarded by many as “a doyen of electoral politics” in the country.
He and his team will be leading the governing party into another crucial election in which President Akufo-Addo will be facing former President John Mahama in a third electoral battle, having lost one to him and won one.
President Akufo-Addo led the NPP to secure an unprecedented victory over the NDC in the previous election, securing 5,697,093 of the popular votes (53.80 per cent) as against then President Mahama’s 4,701,162 votes, representing 44.40 per cent. The NPP also won an overwhelming parliamentary majority, securing 169 of the 275 seats.
According to NPP’s General Secretary, the governing party is not changing the “winning team”, hence the decision to maintain the former National Chairman as the Campaign Manager. “We are not changing the winning team; Mac Manu will lead our campaign team and when the full list comes out, it is going to be solid,” he said on Peace FM.
