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A Must Read Special Report : JM, NDC DEFEAT …Dairies from The aL-hAJJ

By The aL-hAJJ
Special Report A Must Read Special Report : JM, NDC  DEFEAT  Dairies from The aL-hAJJ
JAN 4, 2017 LISTEN

How did President John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress lose the December 7 polls? Did the New Patriotic Party put up superior strategy to outweigh the much-touted unprecedented achievements of the outgoing ruling party? Could it also be that the NDC willingly gave away power even if unknowingly?

These are among critical questions many Ghanaians, particularly supporters, sympathizers and activists of the NDC mesmerized by the party’s humiliating defeat at the polls are struggling to find answers to. To the NDC, the party had at its disposal everything to win the elections, but, was it for “recklessness”?

A 13 member committee led by former Minister of Finance and Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission, Prof Kwesi Botchway, has since been constituted to investigate the NDC’s defeat.

The committee has been given a 90-day ultimatum to present findings from the investigations. The team however has the mandate to consult with members of the public who may have suggestions regarding the possible causes of the defeat.

The inauguration of this committee is probably testament to the fact that Ghanaians have become so used to the idea that incumbent Presidents seeking second term in office should win elections automatically. And anything short of this must be thoroughly investigated.

The defeat of President John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress at the December 7 polls has therefore come as a surprise to many.

What was even shocking was the scale of defeat out-going President Mahama and the NDC suffered at the hands of Nana Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party. Whiles the NDC’s painful exit from office has come as surprise to many, others who saw it coming aren’t any surprise.

One of such persons is former President Jerry John Rawlings. According to him “It was obvious a long time ago that we wouldn’t make it. Our general negativity, impunity, disrespect and corruption was taking us further and further downhill. About the time when most were living in the painful reality with stress and anger, that’s when some of us chose to be more impervious to reality. We had lost so much goodwill,”he added.

Addressing a ceremony to mark the 35th anniversary of the 31st December revolution at the Revolution Square in Accra, the NDC founder added that “I don’t think I was the only one who saw the writing on the wall. Many people from our very own party I believe could see the writing on the wall that we were going to lose this past election.

Meanwhile, following the NDC’s excruciating defeat by the Akufo Addo led NPP; the party has been locked in heated blame game over who and what caused it.

Several post-election analyses point to varieties of factors including apathy, allegations of corruption, complacency and ineffectiveness on the part of some government appointees; even as the actual cause(s) remain unknown.

While the National Organizer and Campaign Coordinator, Mr Kofi Adams has accepted full responsibility for the party’s poor performance; Greater Accra organizer of the ruling party, Mr. Anthony Nukpenu has put the blame on former President and NDC Founder, Jerry John Rawlings.

But the NDC founder has rubbished that claim, saying "in spite of the defeat some handlers want to promote a lie about the reason for our failure."

According to former President Rawlings "...Rather than facing why we lost, Rawlings was made a scape goat," he stated and blamed the "impunity, disrespect, and corruption" by government officials for the defeat. He said the uncouth ones did not even have "cognitive intelligence" to recognize the nurtured ones in the party.

Again, while some have also singled out Communications Minister, Dr. Edward Kofi Omani Boamah as the cause of the party’s defeat; other party activists are pointing to appointees they tagged arrogant.

Alhaji Bature Iddrisu and Amos Blessing Amorse take readers down memory trip to find out whether the “supposed” cause(s) of the defeat of the NDC and President Mahama in the just concluded elections were not earlier predicted?

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