The battle for the running mate of the flag-bearer of the Convention People's Party (CPP), Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, is a straight one between Ms Anna Bossman, the acting Chairperson of, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), and Dr Abu Sakara Foster, the Executive Director of Rural and Agriculture Development Associates. Credible sources close to the party disclosed to the Daily Graphic in Accra on Thursday that after the final consultation on Saturday, Dr Nduom would present one name to the Central Committee of the party on Sunday for endorsement. That would-precede the historic national campaign launch in the party's quest to wrest political power in the December general election. The campaign launch will take place on the 99th birthday of the party's founder, Osagyefe Dr Kwame Nkrumah. According to the sources, before Dr Nduom settled on the short listed names, he held broad consultations with a number of groups, including elders, some of the presidential aspirants, who contested the CPP flag-bearership, national, regional, and constituency executives, as well as other leading members, to discuss the critical issue of the running mate. They also examined the names that had so far come up as potential nominees. According to the sources, the party was determined to select a very good person who would add value and dynamism to its presidential campaign and help the flag-bearer to achieve the party's goal of winning both the presidential and parliamentary elections. Dr Sakara, who is the First National Vice-Chairman of the party, is very active in the ongoing Nduom campaign and appears to appeal to a broad section of the party. He is a Gonja and is directly related to the overlord of Gonja. According to the sources, he is a credible northern candidate who has invested a lot of resources in the area. Ms Bossman has excellent credentials and is very well known by the people. As a person with parents from the Eastern and Greater Accra regions, two regions with huge voter populations, and having worked as the acting Commissioner of CHRAJ with distinction she appeals to broad section of Ghanaians who are against corruption. Having served in various positions in the oil and gas business for many years in Gabon, she is expected to bring her rich experience to bear on the management of the country's oil find. The sources described the two personalities as a "harvest of choices that has nothing to do with whether one is better than the other or not". When the Daily Graphic contacted Dr Nduom, he said the selection of a running mate was his prerogative but he was looking for a broader consultation so that at the end of the day "we will narrow our differences and work together for victory". He said he wanted to listen to everybody and hear every one with an open mind so that at the end of the process when the choice was made it would be acceptable to the broad masses of the party and strengthen the bond of unity within the party. Asked whether he was considering a woman to partner him, he simply remarked, "1 am not averse to nominating a woman as running mate in so far as she satisfies the criteria set by the party. My decision will be made known on Sunday and 1 implore all to wait till that day." Sources close to his campaign team, however, said Dr Nduom was looking for a partner who, in his own right, was a presidential material and could be President of the Republic of Ghana any time. The running mate, they said, must be able to get along well with the flag-bearer and should be someone who was hardworking and who would execute tasks with a sense of urgency. They said that person must also be able to draw votes to complement the efforts of the party and the flag bearer at winning the December elections. Dr Nduom, last month, dropped some names, including those of Prof Agyeman Badu Akosa, a former CPP presidential aspirant, and Alhaji Sulley Gariba, a Tamale-based businessman, among a shortlist of persons, one of whom would partner him in the December presidential polls. Prof Akosa, it is believed, made a good impression at the last CPP congress and also has a constituency within the party. People within and outside the party is attracted to him, and given his excellent qualifications, he cannot be ignored in the choice of a running mate for Nduom. Source: Daily Graphic