Our focus is on Bawumia’s message, not position on ballot paper– Miracles Aboagye

An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has brushed aside concerns about his candidate’s third-place position on the ballot paper for the upcoming New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential primary, stating that it is the message, not the position, that wins elections.

Dennis Miracles Aboagye, a key spokesperson for the Bawumia campaign, downplayed the significance of the ballot order, pointing out that in a delegate-based election, the focus should be on selling the message of the candidate.

He highlighted Dr. Bawumia’s landslide victory in the 2023 NPP primaries as evidence that the ballot position is not a deciding factor.

“In spite of the position on the ballot, we have a responsibility to sell the message of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and, most importantly, why the party should present him,” he stated.

“In the 2023 primaries, he was number two. He won the election because the emphasis is not on the position on the ballot paper but on the message that we carry to the people.”

Dr. Bawumia drew the third slot in the balloting exercise held at the NPP headquarters in Accra on Friday, October 10, 2025, which set the stage for the party’s much-anticipated presidential primary on January 31, 2026.

Former Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong, drew the number one spot, followed by former Agriculture Minister Dr. Bryan Acheampong in second place. Dr. Bawumia secured the third position, while former Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum and former NPP General Secretary Kwabena Agyepong took the fourth and fifth slots respectively.

However, Mr. Aboagye maintained that for the over 280,000 delegates voting in the primaries, the order on the ballot is secondary.

“Remember that this is a delegates’ conference. These are voters who are very political. There is not a single voter out of the over 280,000 who cannot identify any of the five candidates.”

“They can all be identified by name, they can all be identified by position. So typically, except for the funfair, when it comes to delegates’ elections, really the position on the ballot paper isn’t such a big deal,” he said.