Mahama’s Performance As Former President Will Help Him In 2020 Elections – Otokunor

The Deputy General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Peter Otokunor said the differences in performance between the current Akufo-Addo administration and the previous Mahama administration is now clearer for Ghanaians to judge.

He expects John Mahama's time in government to count in his favour when Ghanaians go to the polls on December 7.

Speaking on Citi TV's The Point of View, Mr. Otokunor noted that, “If we have a former president contesting the election, the dynamics are going to be different.”

Mr. Mahama was the first incumbent to lose an election in Ghana's electoral history.

His return as the NDC flagbearer has meant both the NDC and the New Patriotic Party will be presenting candidates who have been Presidents before as President Akufo-Addo will be seeking a second term.

In Mr. Otokunor’s view, this has given voters an easy comparison to make.

“They [Ghanaians] have weighed the two governments…They have realised which of them is heavier and that alone generates some inherent alacrity among the voters. They have seen the level of infrastructural development and growth, the levels of economic stability that they enjoyed from the Mahama administration,” he said.

Mr. Otokunor also said the controversies around voter suppression have energised residents in areas perceived to be targeted by the state because they are NDC strongholds.

He said this was evident in the encouraging number of voters registered in NDC strongholds.

“They wanted to show the government that the sovereignty of the state lies in them and that nobody can define their citizenship beyond the constituency.”

Mr. Otokunor also expects a significant improvement on the voter turnout figure of about 69 percent in 2016.

“This year, you are not going to see the usual voter turnout being low with respect to the average,” he predicted.

---citinewsroom