NDC flagbearer polls: Netherlands Chapter endorses Mahama

The NDC Holland Chapter in The Netherlands has endorsed former President, John Mahama as the most qualified person to lead the NDC into election 2020. The endorsement of the over sea’s branch of the party comes shortly before the flagbearership election of the NDC, slated for Saturday, February 23, 2019 at various centres across the country.

A statement from the branch said, “we, the Executives of the NDC Holland Chapter in The Netherlands, have unanimously pledged our unflinching support for flagbearer candidate Ex-President John Dramani Mahama.”

According to the group, their position was informed by research and a belief that the former President is the right person to lead the party at this time in history. The statement said the chapter’s support is notwithstanding the sterling qualities of the other candidates in the race.

“Notwithstanding the potentials and the strong calibers other six candidates have demonstrated in their bid to lead the great umbrella family, our executives have voted unanimously to support Mr. Mahama’s bid. Our observations and scientific hypothesis have shown that the best and the most marketable candidate to stop Nana Akufo-Addo-led government to inflict more hardships on Ghanaians is Mr. John Mahama,” the statement said.

The NDC goes into Saturday’s elections with the highest number of candidates since its formation. Seven persons have been crisscrossing the country selling their message and vision to delegates and hoping to find favour with them. They are, former President John Mahama, Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, Former Trades and Industry Minister, Ekow Spio-Garbrah, Former National Health Insurance Authority Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah, Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Joshua Alabi and businessmen Goosie Tanoh and Nurudeen Iddrisu.

But despite the standing of the above names in the party, the executives of the NDC Holland Chapter said, “as far as we are concerned Mr. Mahama remains the best-known and most accomplished potential NDC candidate in the nation” and the one capable of “wrestling power from the inept, kleptocracy (sic), nepotistic, and super-incompetent NPP government.”

On how they arrived at the decision to endorse Mr Mahama, the group said it considered many factors including an analysis of the “candidate’s steadiness and responsiveness to political crashes, and we observed that Mr. John Mahama is stable, somber and sagacious. In terms of political experiences, Mr. John Mahama happened to stand tall among other candidates. He has served as Deputy Minister and Minister, MP for 12 years, a Vice-President and a President of the Nation, a record unmatched in the annals of Ghanaian politics. He has an impeccable record for economic development and his vision for infrastructure-driven development is a match to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.”

Mr. Mahama has been hit by two suits challenging his eligibility to contest the party’s election given his status as a former president of the Republic, though he served only one of the Constitutionally allowed two terms. The courts are yet to sit on the cases. But the Mahama Campaign has sought to discount those claims urging party supporters to disregard the suits and come out in their numbers to vote for Mr Mahama.

Commenting on the legal challenge to Mr Mahama’s candidature, the statement signed on behalf of the Chapter by its Chairman, Fred Morgan and Communications Officer, Lewis Kwame Obuobi Addo said “Article 66 (1) and (2) of the 1992 Constitution does not bar Mr. Mahama from running a second term as some evil elements [are] peddling around.

“If Ex-President John Mahama was eligible to contest for 7th December 2016 election, what prohibits him now from not contesting this time? Indeed, Article 60 (6) and (7) of the Constitution exonerates him from any legal challenges.”

This is the first time Mr. Mahama is facing competition in his quest to lead the NDC as flagbearer. He became President through a constitutional transfer of power following the demise in office of former President Professor John Mills in 2012. He was then Vice President. The NDC which was four months to elections endorsed him at a party congress. Mr Mahama as President, again stood unopposed at the party’s congress ahead of election 2016.

The NDC operates an expanded electoral college system made up of delegates numbering over three hundred thousand drawn from all levels of the party including its foreign branches.

Below is the full text of the statement from the NDC Holland Chapter in The Netherlands:



NDC HOLLAND CHAPTER SUPPORTS MR. JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA’S BID

We, the Executives of the NDC Holland Chapter in The Netherlands, have unanimously pledged our unflinching support for flagbearer candidate Ex-President John Dramani Mahama. Notwithstanding the potentials and the strong calibers other six candidates have demonstrated in their bid to lead the great umbrella family, our executives have voted unanimously to support Mr. Mahama’s bid. Our observations and scientific hypothesis have shown that the best and the most marketable candidate to stop Nana Akufo-Addo-led government to inflict more hardships on Ghanaians is Mr. John Mahama.

And as far as we are concerned Mr. Mahama remains the best-known and most accomplished potential NDC candidate in the nation. We would also like to state categorically that Article 66 (1) and (2) of the 1992 Constitution does not bar Mr. Mahama from running a second term as some evil elements peddling around. If Ex-President John Mahama was eligible to contest for 7th December 2016 election, what prohibits him now from not contesting this time? Indeed Article 60 (6) and (7) of the Constitution exonerates him from any legal challenges. On this note, we unequivocally support his comeback to wrestling power from the inept, kleptocracy, nepotistic, and super-incompetent NPP government.

The Executives took into consideration so many factors to arrive at its conclusion. First, we looked at the candidate’s steadiness and responsiveness to political crashes, and we observed that Mr. John Mahama is stable, somber and sagacious. In terms of political experiences, Mr. John Mahama happened to stand tall among other candidates. He has served as Deputy Minister and Minister, MP for 12 years, a Vice-President and a President of the Nation, a record unmatched in the annals of Ghanaian politics. He has an impeccable record for economic development and his vision for infrastructure-driven development is a match to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

It would be recalled that when Mr. John Mahama was busy putting up massive infrastructures across the country, the NPP went about telling Ghanaians that infrastructures did not put monies in peoples’ pockets. But today President Nana Akufo-Addo is selling our resources to China for the same infrastructures he condemned. While Mr. John Mahama championing Progressively Free SHS Policy, and by so doing started building numerous E-Block schools to increase the intake of SHS students, Nana Akufo-Addo confused voters with his unplanned free SHS. Today, Ghana stands isolated as the only country using “double-track” system. Sad enough, free SHS has rather become more expensive and a burden for parents.

Prior to 2016 general election NPP boasted of having the crop of experts and patriots to transform the economy within two years, and after promising to protect the national pulse, President Akufo-Addo did the opposite by creating 110 ministers, appointed almost 1000 staff at the Presidency. They said to have arrested the Cedi and given the key to the IGP, but today the Cedi is on free-range, and businesses are collapsing, importers are crying, people are crying, and financial institutions are crashing. The so-called economic gurus are now hiding in their doldrums. All these and more vindicate Mr. John Mahama.

After closely monitored the massive crowd that Mr. John Mahama’s campaign tours attract, and after following what is trending on social media, we came to a final conclusion that the best candidate for NDC is Ex-President John Mahama. It is vividly clear that Nana Akufo-Addo and his cohorts hatched a scheme to lie to voters to come to power. And we believe most voters have regretted wasting their votes on President Akufo-Addo/Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia government. Therefore Mr. John Mahama versus Nana Akufo-Addo rematch would be the riveting political story in Ghanaian history.

However, our more concern is the choice of the Vice-Presidential candidate. Vice presidential selection can be something of an open-ended mess, creating as many problems for a candidate as it can help with an election. The vice-presidential selection is intended to be an electoral plus, adding balance to the ticket and hopefully greater voter appeal. In view of this we would also appeal to Ex-President John Mahama to nominate a vice-presidential candidate which will bring a regional balance, should he emerge as the flagbearer.

Finally, we encourage our national delegates to support Ex-President John Mahama’s bid to put to rest unnecessarily challenges which bring wrangles in parties. We believe Ghanaians want to be rescued from economic hardship, unemployment, massive corruption, and super-incompetent family and friends style of governance. We wish to encourage our Party Elders, National Executives, and Executives in Diasporas to come together as a united family to support a candidate who would lead the NDC to a resounding victory in 2020.

God Bless Ghana!

God Bless NDC!

ƐyƐ Zu, ƐyƐ Za

Source:Starrfm.com.gh