An aide to former President John Mahama, has reacted to a recent statement that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) can win the 2024 polls provided they replace him as their flagbearer.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report stated among other issues the former president was reportedly considering running again and the party should try to revitalise its prospects with a fresh candidate.
Bawah Mogtari, an aide to former President Mahama, said the two-time losing aspirant (2016 and 2020) remained unperturbed by the findings of the report and he was the ideal man to lead the country in the next elections.
“The NDC party is a very democratic one that any individual willing is able to contest and if you remember in 2020, President Mahama beat resoundingly all of his opponents to lead the party and I have watched the body language of the current executives, I have watched how our party faithful react to him, I have observed how many Ghanaians have watched how he has actually stood up tall in many ways.
“As the statesman he is, as the patriotic individual he is, people believe he deserves a second term, to at least even if nothing, to bring to bear and to complete the processes he started which was truncated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP),” Ms Mogtari asserted.
However, Buaben Asamoa, the Director of Communications of the NPP, in a statement issued said the prediction by the EIU on the 2024 elections favoured NPP rather than NDC because they were better placed in all indicators mentioned in the report on which political party could win the next elections.
It cited slow governance progress as another reason for change in 2024, unemployment, infrastructure and anti-corruption and cumulative record of the NPP in the 4th Republic is better on all the factors than the NDC since the NDC had not demonstrated any policy capacity capable of turning out better and faster outcomes in the areas.
Former President Mahama won his first term in 2012 beating incumbent Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, he lost the last two polls – 2016 and 2020 – to Nana Akufo-Addo and is widely rumoured to be lacing his boots to contest in 2024.
According to EIU’s five-year forecast for Ghana released on April 13, 2022, the report stated the NDC has higher probability to be victorious in the next general elections since President Akufo-Addo’s tenure ends in 2024 with NPP set to present a new candidate for the next elections and if he contests he will be going for his fourth straight contest.
“Our baseline forecast is that ongoing public dissatisfaction with slow pace of improvements in governance—such as infrastructure development, job creation and easing of corruption—will trigger anti-incumbency factors and push the electorate to seek a change,” the report said. –citinewsroom.com
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