Delegates reject Joe Ghartey …secures 4 votes out of 961

The ambition and aspiration of former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Joe Ghartey to appoint 60 ministers if elected President of Ghana will not manifest because the New Patriotic Party (NPP) delegates last Saturday refused to vote for the presidential candidate aspirant.

Joe Ghartey in addition to 3 others namely Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, Kofi Konadu Apraku and Kwadwo Poku failed to garner enough votes on August 26 to qualify for the next phase of the race.

His many plans including being the best candidate to lead the party would be thrown into the drain.

At the end of the counting process last Saturday, Hon. Joe Ghartey had zero vote in the Ahafo region, including 10 other regions.

Out of the 961 delegates, the lawmaker managed to get four votes at the end of the day, representing 0.03%.

He had one vote from the party headquarters, one vote from Central region, one vote again from Western and another one vote from Western North.

Meanwhile ahead of the Saturday super delegate conference, Members and executives of the party in the Ahafo Region hailed him as a selfless leader.

The executives and members made their observations of the Essikado-Ketan Constituency’s longest-serving Member of Parliament’s selfless leadership when he visited the region to canvas votes ahead of the party’s primaries.

The Chairman of Asonafo South, Elvis Mensah, for example, recounted the immense assistance and support Joe Ghartey had given to their constituency over a long period of time.

NPP members and executives in the region expressed optimism that the former railways minister is capable of leading the NPP to victory in 2024.

In all the praise singing, just one person voted for him in the region.

Speaking to journalists in June when he filed his nomination forms, he indicated that, “I want to be President to be a blessing to the people of Ghana, I pray that God will bless me so I can bless them. It is not about what you can get but rather it is about what you can do for people and God will bless you. The bible says that where a great leader rules the people are blessed. If it is God’s will, I will be President of Ghana but if it is not His will, I will not be. So far nothing has brought me to the conclusion that God don’t want me to become President of Ghana.

“My experiences since 1992 till date has convinced me beyond reasonable doubt that I have been paired for this time, a time such as this where a man such as me will rule the country and bring blessing to Ghana.

He also highlighted the importance of unity, hard work and equity in his campaign. He pledged to transform the party and nation as a whole as he will be focusing on fostering economic growth, eradicating corruption, and improving the living standards of all Ghanaians.

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia won the contest with 629 votes (68.15%) out of the total votes cast.

He was followed by Kennedy Agyapong who had 132 votes (14.30%). On the third and fourth positions were: Alan Kyerematen and Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto with 95 and 36 votes respectively.

Franci Addai-Nimoh and Boakye Agyarko secured 9 votes each.

The party is expected to hold a run-off election for the two aspirants on Saturday, September 2, 2023, to determine which of the two will be part of the top five ahead of the November 4 conference.