For Immediate Release

Press Release by Concerned NDC Members of North America On Recent Developments in the NDC Party

New York, North America – April 18, 2011 - Concerned members of NDC North America send their warmest regards to the rank and file of the NDC in Ghana and the world over.

We have been observing events within the party and in the NDC government, with keen interest, since the party won the 2008 general elections. Recent events, following the declaration of a time table for the election of a flag bearer to lead the party into the 2012 general elections and the declaration of both the sitting president and the former first lady to contest in the primaries, have rather confirmed our long held collective view that the perceive acrimony within the party will rather get worse with time. This is threatening the very foundation of the party and, as Dr. Spio-Gabrah stated recently, never portend any good for the future fortunes of the party. The party needs each and every individual to confront the task ahead of it in both the upcoming primaries and in the general elections.

We, the Concerned NDC Members of North America, therefore urge those in executive positions who are running helter-skelter trying to denigrate the other, to cease their clandestine activities and open hostilities with immediate effect. Choosing a presidential candidate to lead the party is part of the democratic process and rightly enshrined in the party’s constitution. The enthronement of power as the given birthright of a given sector of the party should not be allowed to evolve into a privilege of mediocrity and fester into the quest for power by right.

Congress reserves the absolute right to determine what is good for the party, per the party’s constitution. And it’s for the beauty of democracy that the party has enshrined in its constitution the processes of choosing a leader. John Evans Atta-Mills being a sitting president should not be deluded into believing that everybody in the party endorses his style of leadership and he, therefore, automatically deserves a second term as a sitting president; similarly, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings should not be intimidated by developments in the party so far. Rather she should be her own self and try not to be under the shadows of her husband’s popular grassroots support, believing Jerry Rawlings’s command of the grassroots can win her the presidency hands down. We want to hear the policy debates from both sides!

For those who are benefitting financial and have reason to support Atta-Mills, they should do that with all the decorum required from a civilized people. For there may be others who are still nursing their ambitions to contest the candidates who have so far declared their intentions but may shy away due to the rancor that has welcome the two candidates so far. Let’s not forget that competition remains the driver of value and quality. Electorates, like consumers, have the right to be presented with options and alternatives. So far, those who have come out to declare their stand to one or the other side have not even bothered to make mention of policy issues which are the cornerstone of their choices and hence the process.

We can assure you that Ghana is not going backward. We are moving forward and expect some level of maturity from both camps. On this note, we usher the contestants to the next level of the process, which is the policy contest. John Evans Atta-Mills should account for his stewardship and tell the rank and file of the party why he deserves a second term, similarly Nana Konadu Agyemang should go ahead and present her plans and why she thinks Atta-Mills does not deserve a second term and she is a better choice.

To those who think Atta-Mills deserve an automatic second term, they must be in a dreamland. It is not for a given. Nelson Mandela was a one term president and left the presidency with his dignity intact. We do not expect to groom democratic autocrats in Ghana.

Fellow Akatamansonians and Ghanaians let the debate begin. It is the beauty of democracy. Long live the NDC, long live Ghana!!!

Concerned NDC Members, North America.