Strenuous Effort To Grab NDC Flagbearer Ticket

Screaming headlines of two Ghanaian newspapers put two of the candidates vying to become the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, are catching eyeballs. Ghana goes to the polls on December 7, 2024, to elect a new President and members of the legislative assembly, and the NDC as the largest opposition party is a major stakeholder in that process.

One of the newspapers depicts former President John Mahama as the presumptive flagbearer, thus in its latest publication, it throws up a statement made by the candidate aimed at the governing New Patriotic Party. This then mirrors the former President as the candidate likely to pick the NDC ticket for the battle against the NPP.

The other newspaper focuses on the internal race for the first-time chaser of the slot. Dr. Kwabena Duffour crucially needs a victory in the primaries before setting eyes on the national agenda. The headline suggests a Duffour bent on causing an upset in the race which pundits called for Mahama from the onset. The campaign team of the former Finance minister believes the race will be a photo finish, it will go to the wire, down to the last vote.

Two key regions, the Greater Accra and Central, were the areas Mahama and Duffour recently canvassed for delegates’ votes respectively. Both candidates have said to their supporters that they will come together and work together after the May 13 vote to face the New Patriotic Party in the next general elections.

The third man in the race, a former Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, Kojo Bonsu, also fancies his chances. He recently issued photos and punchlines that suggest the Western region is falling for him. However, his campaign has been quieter. One cannot use public expressions as the yardsticks for prediction as some have in the past taken elections by surprise from the seemingly unassuming and low ambiance points of view.