The Wisest Choice; If There Is One
In order of their arrangement; Alex Mould, Alex Segbefia, Dzifa Gomashie, Fritz Baffour, Goosie Tanoh, Hanna tetteh, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, Prof. Joshua Alabi, Karen Tanoh, Prof. Kwesi Botchwey, Kyeretwie Opoku, Mona Quartey, Nii Moi Thompson, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Victor Smith, Zanetor Agyemang-Rawlings.
First of all, what on earth is the NDC waiting for?????
It's been 4 months since the National Democratic Congress elected - overwhelmingly - former President John Dramani Mahama as their flagbearer, and with barely 17 months to go to the general election, I sincerely cannot help but wonder why his running mate hasn't been announced yet. With no major figure touting and explaining their vision and ideals to the specific demographics they lost favour with, one would've thought the NDC would take a cue from Dr. Bawumia's effective engagements all through 2015.
Clearly the former President is a busy man, and I would be shocked if I'm told he's actually been able to spend a whole uninterrupted month in the country since being voted out of the Flagstaff House. He has been doing immense work leading various observer missions to almost every general election held on the continent within the period he's been out of office, but that has also been a distraction if you ask me. He hasn't really been able to exert himself on the struggling government. Perhaps it's a strategy; let their inadequacies speak for themselves; I just don't know if it's a good one.
Former President John Dramani Mahama on Election Observer duties in Malawi captured with key election stakeholders.
The absence of a declared running mate wouldn't be so much of an issue if names like the ones listed at the top were at the forefront of the opposition's political communication. Instead, the party has relied on Members of Parliament - many of whom led the NDC government's communication in the run up to their massive defeat in 2016 - to figure out how to balance being objective parliamentarians and being party spokespeople at the same time.
Who should it be?
I don't know if I'll be able to answer this question without my bias showing itself. At this point, let me just disclose that I supported Goosie Tanoh during the flagbearership race. I did that for a number of reasons; the biggest of them being the truth that despite my admiration and support for the former President, I wasn't - and still am not hundred percent - convinced that the 2020 elections was the right time for him to attempt a comeback given how much propaganda was done against him and how well that yielded for the NPP in the 2016 election.
Do I think Goosie is the right person to partner John Mahama? Well, that will depend on how much the current establishment in the party is willing to cooperate with him.
Some elders and leadership of the National Democratic Congress.
Many observers believe that the NDC we see today has no room for people who cannot tolerate corruption and "highest bidder" politics. And if NDC fanatics try to deny this, they won't be helped by the current relationships the party has with Flt.Lt. Jerry Rawlings and the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu. The thing about distancing yourself from people like those two is that you also appear to distance yourself from the ideals they proclaim, unless you still have others within the party who enjoy widespread support for championing those same ideals. Question is, can we refer to anyone within the current NDC establishment who vehemently denounces "highest bidder" politics and self-servitude? If the answer is "no" and the observation is correct, that would easily rule out individuals like Goosie Tanoh, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Kyeretwie Opoku, and Fritz Baffour from being chosen as running mate. I'm not saying the others would be reluctant to call out bad conduct, but these guys have all once upon a time fallen out with certain elements within the establishment over their reactions to what they deemed wrong and at least unethical. I don't know why I'm a bit hesitant about adding Hanna Tetteh to that list.
Goosie Tanoh condemns corruption with harsh words for ex government officials who failed the image of the NDC.
So what if the establishment wanted to choose someone they would appear more comfortable with? Well, that list will probably include people like, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Prof. Joshua Alabi, Prof. Kwesi Botchwey, Alex Mould, Alex Segbefia, Zanetor Agyemang-Rawlings, and Mona Quartey. Again, not because these people are more likely to entertain misconduct, but because I just haven't been privy to any major near-irreparable damage to the relationship between them and the establishment.
Of course there's the debate about whether or not the running mate must be an economics and finance person seeing as the vice president is also the head of the country's Economic Management Team. I would add expertise in our energy sector as an alternative criterion for assessing who is qualified to preside over the management of our economy. For Economic/Finance/Energy sector experience, I believe we'll be looking at people like Prof. Kwesi Botchwey, Karen Tanoh, Alex Mould, Nii Moi Thompson, Mona Quartey, Goosie Tanoh and Kyeretwie Opoku. If the criteria isn't considered so mandatory, then of course everyone else is still in contention.
There's a similar debate around whether the running mate should be from the Volta Region or not. Depending on where you stand, the contenders will be people like Zanetor Agyemang-Rawlings, Alex Segbefia, and Dzifa Gomashie. I say this is not necessary and I have even suspected at some points that some of the names that have popped up in rumours were just pushed by the NPP to put pressure on their opponents to pick a "voltarian". I can think of a number of reasons why this could be true, but that would be for another conversation about ethnocentrism in Ghana.
True that apathy in the Volta Region in 2016 contributed significantly to the NDC's embarrassing defeat, but I also think it was a matter of historical party faithfuls not being impressed by what they perceived as the immoral "character" of the current NDC establishment. I believe that when people talk about "the Rawlings factor", they should be talking more about it as a matter of conscience than a matter of identity. If they want to be assured of maximum support in the Volta Region, a running mate that exudes moral leadership is the right choice.
John Mahama in the Volta Region during flagbearership campaign.
It's worth mentioning at this point that my discussion is based on an assumption that all persons qualified are interested in being running mate. I'm stating this for a number of reasons. People like Alex Mould and Victor Smith have said publicly that they do not think they should be considered for the task. In the lead up to the flagbearership elections, Goosie Tanoh also said publicly on many platforms that if he wasn't elected, he'd return to helping strengthen the grassroots of the party via the wing Organising For Ghana. Around the same time, Alex Segbefia reportedly said in a private conversation with some party people that in the NDC's best interests, he'd rather Goosie be chosen. Dzifa Gomashie appears to be gunning for the Ketu South parliamentary seat as well.
The NDC really needs a running mate who can help the ticket appeal to youth. And I'm talking especially about the sections of the youth that are more likely to be exposed to propaganda on social media. The ticket needs a running mate who has excellent appreciations of complex structural and welfare matters of this nation and can communicate solutions with the sophistication required of someone offering themself as a way better alternative to the current vice president. I believe this is very essential to buying the trust and confidence of the youth of this country.
His Excellency John Mahama along with Prof. Kwesi Botchwey and some party executives posing with some youth of the party.
The last thing I will talk about is - and I cannot stress this enough - the spouse of the running mate that will be chosen. Mrs. Lordina Mahama and Mad. Matilda Amissah-Arthur as much as they may have tried, were really no match for Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Hajia Samira Bawumia in terms of how much influence their contributions had on the 2016 presidential election. It is really really important in my humble view that the party chooses a running mate whose spouse - if they have one - has impressive communication skills and can articulate the key communication points of the party going into the 2020 election.
Fritz Baffour and wife.
I will end by wishing the NDC well, and beyond that, wishing Ghana well. Let us hope that whatever the choice of the party is, it is not rendered inconsequential to the results of the upcoming election by the conduct of Madam Jean Mensa's Electoral Commission.
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