In the recently held Presidential and Parliamentary elections of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), over 61,000 members of President John Dramani Mahama’s own party voted against his candidature.
The President and members of the NDC had boasted that John Mahama has done so well for Ghana and was going to win not only their internal elections by 100% to prove that the NDC was united solidly behind him but also the election of next year with a “one-touch” victory.
The fact that nearly 62,000 members of his own party voted to reject the candidature of the President should give him an inkling of what he should expect next year. His own party members who toiled to get him elected as President are now faced with unacceptable suffering and deprivation. Not only are they unemployed but also can’t feed themselves. They believe he was not doing very well and there was no need voting for him to continue with the incompetence and mismanagement of the country.
It was therefore understandable that he was sufficiently rejected by his own party. The biggest rejection is next year. When a government is okay with naked propaganda and cares less about the suffering masses, the best alternative is to elect a serious alternative to salvage the situation.
One curious issue about the NDC primaries was the massive way the President was rejected in the Northern, Upper West, East and Volta regions. In Sawla/Tuna/Kalba constituency, they voted massively “No” against him. They indicated openly that he had disappointed them and their situation was more deplorable than how it was before their brother came to the Presidency.
The Voltarians indicated that he had taken them for granted even though they have always voted massively for the NDC. Their vote, according to them, was to protest the neglect of the people of the Volta Region.
In Upper West, the electorates said they wish it was the main election so that they would have voted incompetent Mahama out of the Presidency. The people in my view are right for expressing their disappointment in the performance of the President in the election by voting against him.
The irony is that the President wanted to downplay the votes against him by saying those votes were probably cast in error! How can over 61,000 members cast their votes in error? Should it be taken that they had not eaten before going to vote and therefore committed the “errors”? The President must be told that error votes go to rejected ballots and Ghanaians know how many ballots got rejected in the election as well.
I will like to appeal to Ghanaians to look into their personal economic situations and cast their votes against the NDC next year. It doesn’t make sense voting for a President whose performance is underwhelming and yet he is not showing any serious commitment to improving the situation of his people positively.
The NPP is endowed with a track record of bringing to Ghanaians the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Capitation Grant, School Feeding Programme, Youth in Employment programme, Free Maternal Healthcare programme, Metro Mass Transport, LEAP, just to mention a few. Massive infrastructural development unprecedented in the country in my view should be given the opportunity once again to put right what John Dramani Mahama and his incompetent government have collapsed.
The rejection of President Mahama by a convincing number of his own party people should give Ghanaians the courage and confidence to also reject him en bloc next year. We are responsible for our destiny and the destiny of this country and have the right to vote out an incompetent President.
Very best to all
Akilu Sayibu
Email: Akisayi@yahoo.com