• The NDC must allow open contest for its 2024 flagbearership race
• This is the view of Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu
• His views are opposite to that of some members who want Mahama to go unopposed
Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has submitted that the National Democratic Congress must use a competitive process to elect its flagbearer for the 2024 presidential elections.
His view is directly opposite to a growing call for former President John Dramani Mahama to be elected unopposed.
In an interview last week on Citi TV, Haruna said he was certain that delegates knew who to elect when the time comes and that he expected a democratic process to be used – be it by voting or acclamation.
“What I know is that the NDC must be a party of opportunity. I know that the grassroots of the NDC is decided in their minds as to what to do, but we must subject it to a competitive democratic process.
“The party will make a determination of its flagbearer but those who can guess will know who will be our flagbearer but we should subject it to open democratic declaration,” he added when asked about Dr. Kwabena Duffuor’s rumoured intentions to run.
The former Finance Minister is so far the sole contender whose name has come up strongly but he has not made any public pronouncements about running.
Haruna’s position is in contradiction to that of his colleague Member of Parliament for Odododiodioo, Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, who is on record to have said the Minority bloc had declared their support for Mahama’s candidature.
In an interview on Citi TV on September 14, he said: “To me, as I sit here and I know with 137 Members of Parliament that he (John Dramani Mahama) is our next flagbearer. I am talking of 137 MPs who are leaders of our constituencies, we have resolved already. He is our next candidate.”
Asked whether or not the NDC will not accept any challengers to the flagbearership race at the next congress, he said the party indeed had lots of competent hands but he was certain that any person or group of persons who contest will be beaten badly.
“Anyone who comes, I don’t care the number of people who will be courageous to come, they will not get more than one percent. We will be endorsing John Mahama as our candidate at the next congress, I am very sure about that.
“We have a lot of people but he is the one we have marketed most, he is the one most Ghanaians trust, he is the one Ghanaians have come to appreciate the difference between somebody who believes in good governance, somebody who has a vision for his country… and someone who just came for self-aggrandizement, to satistfy his captricious belief that he was born to be president,” he added.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
