Ghana’s Presidential Candidate Bawumia Selects Energy Minister as Running Mate

Ghana’s Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia has selected Matthew Opoku Prempeh as his running mate for the December presidential election. Prempeh, a legislator, physician, and Christian from the Asante region, shares the same religious belief with Bawumia, who is a 61-year-old economist and former central banker, opposing former President John Dramani Mahama in a bid to reclaim power.

Both Mahama and Bawumia hail from the northern region of Ghana, which has a predominantly Muslim population and is less economically developed than the southern areas of the country.

Prempeh, aged 56, held the position of education minister from 2017 to 2020 and assumed the role of energy minister in January 2021, tasked with managing a persistent energy crisis.

Bawumia, the first Muslim to lead a major party in Ghana since 1992 and the initial non-Akan to take the helm of the NPP, looks to consolidate the party’s base in the Asante region by selecting Prempeh, addressing concerns about limited opportunities for party members in that area. Meanwhile, Mahama, in his third effort at the presidency, has maintained Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang as his running mate.