By William
Yaw Owusu
Thursday
September 27, 2018
Former President
John Dramani Mahama yesterday hit the ground running in his bid to lead the
opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) once again in the 2020 presidential
election.
He superintended
over the party’s worst electoral defeat when he polled 44.40% on December 7,
2016.
A statement from
his office signed by James Agyenim Boateng, a former deputy minister, said Mr.
Mahama and his entourage would spend four days in the Central Region.
He mentioned constituencies like Awutu Senya East
and West, Gomoa East, Agona East and West, Gomoa Central and Efutu as places where
they would visit, adding that “he will also visit other constituencies during
his campaign tour of the region.”
“Mr. Mahama is scheduled to meet regional and
constituency executives, as well as delegates of the National Democratic
Congress. He will share his vision with delegates and seek their mandate to
lead the NDC to victory in the 2020 election. The former president is due to
return to Accra on Saturday,” the statement said.
It is unclear when the party will hold the primary
to select its flag bearer as the tentative date of December 7 appears to be doubtful
because the election of national executives who would oversee the primary has
not been conducted.
Official
Declaration
On August 23, he officially wrote to the leadership
of the NDC through the party’s general-secretary to declare his intention to contest again.
He later appeared in a short video to say that he is
seeking a second shot at the presidency because he believes he owes a duty to
God and the country to do so.
His declaration
ended months of speculation about his intention to make a comeback.
Some
of his appointees during his tenure sent the letter of intent to the NDC’s
hierarchy at its headquarters at Adabraka Accra.
It’s
believed in NDC circles that ex-President Mahama is the only candidate with a
deep pocket to finance the party’s campaign for 2020.
Daniel
Ohene Agyekum, who led the Mahama Team to the party’s headquarters, said the
former president is the NDC’s best ‘hope’ of returning to power.
Mr
Agyekum, a former Ghana’s ambassador to the United States said: “Despite our
deep respect for all the individuals within our party who have put themselves
up for the same slot, we have shown up here in this number because we genuinely
believe that President John Mahama represents our best hope of a quick return
to power to continue the transformation agenda for a Better Ghana as evidenced
in the very good work JM did between 2013 and 2016, but which was unfortunately
truncated through the obvious deception of the NPP.”
He
was accompanied by former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah; Valerie Sawyer; Victor
Smith; Inusah Fuseini and a host of MPs.
Mr. Mahama, in the short video, clearly admitted
that things were not done right during his tenure which compelled the
electorate to boot him out of office.
He claimed Ghanaians are currently crying over
economic hardship, hence his decision to lead the opposition NDC into the 2020
election.
“I have prayed diligently about the task ahead, and
I believe I owe a duty to God and my country to take our great party back to
government to right the wrongs of the past and to put an end to the cries of
the people under the current dispensation,” he said in a short video he posted
on social media platform Facebook.
Open
Secret
It was an open secret that Mr. Mahama was lacing his
boots to run for president again and used the so-called NDC Unity Walk to test
the ground, and therefore submitting a letter officially to declare his
intention did not come as a surprise to many political observers.
Other NDC aspirants and gurus in the party have
cautioned that the NDC would be doomed if Mr. Mahama is elected to lead them in
2020 because according to them, he supervised the worst NDC electoral defeat in
the history of the party.
Some have also described him as ‘damaged goods,’ who
cannot win the next election, especially when the NDC has not fully assessed
why it performed abysmally in the 2016 elections.
However, Mr Mahama is adamant and appears to have
already set up his machinery for 2020.
Official
Letter
“I am happy to confirm that I have submitted my
letter to the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress confirming
my decision to contest the position of the flag bearer for the NDC when the
party opens nominations later this year,” he said in the short video.
He explained that “In coming to this firm decision,
I have pondered deeply and soberly on the socio-economic and political
landscape of our country today vis-a-vis the clear path we had started to build
aimed at positioning Ghana as a true middle-income country by modernizing our
dilapidated social and economic infrastructure and gradually inculcating in the
Ghanaian a sense of patriotism, self-belief and commitment to a one Ghana
agenda.”
Groundswell
of Support
He said, “I have taken into consideration the
groundswell of support, the never-ending calls and encouragement from a large
section of our party elders, members of our party, supporters and Ghanaians
from diverse backgrounds,” adding “the 2020 election presents our party, the
NDC, with a great opportunity to offer yet again visionary leadership driven by
a commitment to create opportunities for all our people, not just a few.”
The former president said “our collective victory in
2020 will end the increasing hardship, expand the base of our economy, create
more sustainable jobs, ensure shared prosperity for all and pursue good
governance, including peace, unity and security.”
“As a servant leader, I have listened with deep
respect to the elders of our party, to members of our party and Ghanaians from
all walks of life, and I am honoured to avail myself for truthful, transparent,
selfless, unifying and dedicated service to the NDC, and above all to the good
people of Ghana.”
2016
Trouncing
Mr. Mahama’s hopes of securing a second term in
office in 2016 after his controversial victory in 2012 were dashed when he was
humiliated at polls by then presidential candidate of the opposition New
Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
With huge incumbency advantage coupled with flagrant
abuse of state resources in the campaign, Mr. Mahama polled 4,713,277 votes,
representing 44.40% as against the NPP candidate’s 5,716,026 53.8%, representing
53.85%.
While Nana Akufo-Addo’s votes appreciated
significantly and that of NDC’s John Mahama declined, with then president-elect
widening the gap with over 1,002,749 votes.
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