For fear of being victimized, delegates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in various constituencies in Ghana are planning to covertly travel to Accra in large numbers on a daily basis to endorse the forms of Dr. Ekow Spio Gabrah to avoid being noticed.
Dr. Gabrah said most delegates are afraid to openly endorse his nomination forms in the constituencies since according to him, “those that are holding government appointments are afraid of losing their jobs.”
Notwithstanding the threats and intimidations, he said, his loyal supporters across the country that are in full support of his bid to restore the NDC back on track have been calling him on phone to express their preparedness to come to Accra to endorse his forms.
“The loyal delegates have been calling on my phone as the minutes pass, expressing their willingness of traveling to Accra to endorse my forms,” Dr. Gabrah told Kwame Adinkra of Angel FM.
He retorted that he initially faced some problems with regards to delegates endorsing forms, but was quick to add that the delegates want to come to him to endorse the forms to avoid victimization.
Without mincing words, Dr. Gabrah stated emphatically that the NDC would struggle to retain political power in 2012 if President Mills is retained as the ruling party’s flagbearer for the upcoming polls.
According to him, President Mills’ leadership skills have created sharp division among the rank and file of the NDC so he wondered the type of message that President Mills would take to the larger Ghanaian populace to win the 2012 polls.
Dr. Gabrah said so far former President Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu have openly declared that they would not campaign for President Mils if he is elected as the NDC presidential candidate.
He pointed out that without the support of former President Rawlings, who commands enormous support of the electorate, it would be impossible for the NDC to win the next elections.
Dr. Gabrah debunked suggestions by some NDC members that Mr. Rawlings is irrelevant in Ghanaians politics therefore the NDC should relegate him to the background.
“If you tell Mr. Rawlings to sell his shares in the NDC and leave the party, then it means you are sending the NDC back to opposition after just one term in political office.”
He noted that the NDC won the 2008 elections with just 40,000 votes, which represents just one percent of the votes cast and therefore they should not be over confident since they could be disappointed later on.
Former President Rawlings, according to Dr. Gabrah, still remains a major force to reckon with in Ghanaian politics, noting that the NDC founder alone could single-handedly draw about 15 percent of votes needed by the party to win the elections.
Asked whether he would campaign for President Mills if he is retained as the party’s flagbearer in July by delegates, Dr. Gabrah emphatically stated that President Mills’ actions would determine whether he (Gabrah) would join the campaign team or not.
He said people like him and Mr. Rawlings are not prepared to repeat the mistake of campaigning vigorously for the President only to be relegated to the background after the party wins political power.
He said President Mills should now display signs of his readiness to reconcile the party before the Sunyani Congress.
If this is done, Dr. Gabrah noted, then he would offer his support for President Mills should he win the upcoming congress, warning that the better chance for the NDC to unite is now.
If the NDC goes to the congress in this state where there is sharp division among the party members then I am afraid nothing could be done to unite the party after congress, he indicated.
Source: d-Guide
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