Accra, Dec. 15, Lens - The re-elected MP for Bole Bamboi and Director of Communications of The NDC, John Dramani Mahama has explained that the NDC is not laying any blame on Fantis. He conceded that some individuals have expressed their personal opinions on the matter but these do not in any way constitute the position of the NDC at all.

Speaking yesterday on Joy FM's morning show, John Mahama explained that the people of the Central region must certainly have very good reasons to have voted the way they did. The NDC, he said, will therefore put in place mechanisms to find out what those issues of concern to the Central region are and how best the party can address some or all of those concerns.

It would be recalled that the refrain among many sympathizers of the NDC has been about the fact that the Central Region dealt their party a lethal blow by failing to give the NDC and its Presidential candidate, Prof. Mills, a son of the region, an appreciable number votes at the general elections. It was widely expected that the region would throw its weight behind their son just as the Ashanti region threw its full weight behind J.A. Kufuor who hails from that region.

Even though many continue to question the rightness of voting for a candidate simply because he hails from an area, it is an acknowledged fact that all over the world, even in the most advanced democracies, the "homeboy" factor is a strong variable in attracting votes. When analysts speak about issues, the impression gets created that ethnicity is not an issue. The reality however is that it is very much an issue.

A number of reasons have been advanced for the so-called rejection of Prof Mills by his Fanti people, but only a credible research can really establish the facts.

One of the main reasons being advanced is that the NPP orchestrated fabrication that Prof Mills is so pliant that he would be completely manipulated by Rawlings when he should become a President.

If this reason were the factor that influenced votes in the Central region, then it remains difficult to understand why the people of the Central region would choose to believe that blatant lie when so many other people all over Ghana rightly threw it in the garbage can.

How could they believe that their son who stood his ground in the year 2000 and chose Martin Amidu as running mate against the thinking of the party leadership including even then President Rawlings, is a man who is so weak kneed as to bow to any pressure? How could they, in the light of the fact Prof Mills again chose Alhaji Mumuni against the widespread pressure on him to choose John Mahama, continue believing the lie that Prof Mills is so susceptible to outside influence?

If that truly is the reason behind the voting by the people of the Central region then one can only ask that it is time they made an effort to know the resilience and the independent-mindedness of their son, Prof Mills. From the evidence, it is clear that it was rather the people of the Central region who have allowed themselves to be manipulated by a vicious propaganda that has no basis, if indeed they believed that Prof. Mills is so weak as to be susceptible to manipulation by President Rawlings.