A recent survey conducted by the Africa Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies (ACSIS) has projected that the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) must consider selecting a running mate in the Ashanti region if indeed the party wants to win political power come 2024.
The survey was done in all 16 regions and stanch party bigwigs outside the country and covered one-to-one engagements with key stakeholders, including founding members, Cadres of the Revolution, former party executives (at all levels), current executives (at all levels), former appointees, including ministers, MMDCEs, CEOs, ambassadors, and women leaders and activists (within and outside the NDC).
According to the survey, there is a swirl of opposition to the selection of the running mate from the Central Region, and the contention was that since 1992, the presidential ticket has always fielded the Central Region either as flagbearer or running mate, yet this has not translated into votes. Thus, a pick from the Central Region will be met with opprobrium.
Again, it was fact-checked that the 2020 ticket, which was premised on John Mahama and his vice president exiting to allow for a clean slate and a subsequent search for a new leader towards 2024, presented the party as a high-risk political organization without a succession plan and therefore not worth investing time and resources in the pair.
In the opinion of the respondents, such a policy does not make for continuity and stability in the party’s activities and introduces an element of instability into the party’s very existence since this will signify that the party is not making any attempt at succession planning.
In the survey, it was also observed that party sympathizers who otherwise would support the party financially do not think it is worth the while; thus, some of the respondents even wondered how a party without a long-term succession plan can have a long-term view for the development of the country when in government.
The survey also touched on the factions in the NDC. It was revealed that the party must necessarily recognize the fact that there are factions within it with varying, albeit not antagonistic, interests.
However, how these interests are catered for during the selection process can go a long way towards determining the cohesiveness of the party during its electioneering activities and eventual success at the general elections.
Moreover, within the party, there are official institutions that have been established under the provisions of the party’s constitution. These institutions include the Council of Elders, the National Executive Council, and the Functional Executive.
The survey says that those institutions must be consulted in the selection of the party’s running mate for the success of the NDC in the 2024 general elections.
The survey detailed that these institutions were not adequately consulted during the selection process in 2020 for the running mate slot, hence the failure of the party to win in the Central Region.
The outcomes of the survey projected that the majority are not in agreement with the view that the selection of a woman as running mate would necessarily make the ticket attractive to female voters.
It was argued that the choice of running mate in 2020 did not bring much to the campaign by way of energizing and urging the grassroots to work for the victory that the party wanted in those elections.
ACSIS recommended that the running mate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) should come from the Ashanti Region because the region has always defined the electoral fortunes of the NDC and NPP.
Each time the NDC pulls Votes comparatively in the Ashanti Region by obtaining anything close to 30% or above the number of votes in that region, the NDC presidential candidate wins the presidency, and it is against this background that the running must come from the Ashanti Region.
Furthermore, it is against all odds that the majority of the members of the NDC are advocating that the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) consider selecting a running mate from the Ashanti Region.
According to the elders and rank and file of the party, if John Mahama chooses a candidate from the region, it would be easier for the party to increase its vote in the region.
They indicated that the party will have a lot to gain if it chooses Asante as the battleground and induces indigenous people to lead the charge and vote massively for the NDC.
In choosing the running mate from the Ashanti Region, the majority of NDC members, party sympathizers, and elders are yearning for a candidate from the region,” the statement said.
By Lawrence Odoom
Credit: ACSIS