Mahama Re-Election Proves NDC Goes Into 2020 As A United Party – Afriyie Ankrah

Photo Courtesy: Elvis Afriyie Ankrah
Photo Courtesy: Elvis Afriyie Ankrah

 

Director of Elections of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Elvis Afriyie Ankrah says the NDC goes into the upcoming elections as a united party poised to regain political power.

 

Speaking to Ghnewsnow from Kano, Nigeria where he is currently observing the Nigerian elections under the ECOWAS banner, Mr. Afriyie Ankrah said the NDC has proven how united it is by resoundingly re-electing former president John Dramani Mahama as the flagbearer for the 2020 elections.

 

 

“We went for presidential primaries, former President Mahama won by 95%. That is a resounding authoritative victory… it sends a clear signal that the vast majority of NDC people have confidence in him and they want him to lead us into 2020”

“We went for presidential primaries, former President Mahama won by 95%. That is a resounding authoritative victory… it sends a clear signal that the vast majority of NDC people have confidence in him and they want him to lead us into 2020”, he said.

 

Mr. Afriyie Ankrah added that the speed with which the other aspirants conceded and congratulated the former president after the primaries is another indicator of how cohesive the party is as the elections draw close.

 

He hailed the former president’s rerun and said it is time for the NDC to retake power from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which he described as “a huge disappointment”.

 

“The voice of the people is the voice of God, the people have spoken and all of us have to rally around him and ensure that the same energy, passion and enthusiasm that we threw into the primaries, we translate into the general elections”, he said.

 

Mr. Afriyie Ankrah who was the campaign coordinator for John Mahama in the 2012 elections said he has a lot of confidence in the former president to bring home the goods for his party.

 

He attributed the NDC’s 2016 loss to the NPP to “internal and external factors”.

 

“Externally, you had this 8-year syndrome… people felt that, OK if the party had done 8 years, they should give way for another party. Secondly the NPP gave such magnificent promises; mouthwatering promises…”

 

“Internally, I think the biggest challenge from where I sit was complacency. We felt that we had done so much and it was obvious and evident”, he opined.

 

He said projects like the Kotoka International Airport Terminal 3, the beautification of Accra, the Kumasi Shopping Mall, building of many new schools across the country etc. made the party feel like Ghanaians would observe the good works and reward them with re-election.

 

He said other factors like the lackluster approach to results collation also contributed to the NDC’s defeat in 2016.

He added however that they have learnt their lesson and have put structures in place to deal with all the lapses.

 

“I believe that we have all learnt our lessons and going forward we will all endeavor to do better… we will not repeat the mistakes of the past… The people of Ghana are not obliged to vote for us; we need to persuade them with persuasive communication, with humility in letting them understand why they need to give us another opportunity”

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“I believe that we have all learnt our lessons and going forward we will all endeavor to do better… we will not repeat the mistakes of the past… The people of Ghana are not obliged to vote for us; we need to persuade them with persuasive communication, with humility in letting them understand why they need to give us another opportunity”, the former Minister said.

 

On the current government, Mr. Afriyie Ankrah said the NPP has failed abysmally in dealing with the issues that concern Ghanaians most. He said the primary responsibility of any government is to ensure peace and security for the citizenry; something he says the NPP has failed to do in addition to failing in the areas such as the economy, infrastructure etc.

 

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