Educationist and Lecturer at the University of Education Winneba, Dr Ahmed Jinapor, has said that political parties have unknowingly been involved in a debate ahead of the 2020 polls.

He made this statement in an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning as they discussed ex-president Mahama’s proposal to engage President Nana Addo in a debate on the track records of delivered promises.

“The debate has already started playing out. When you consider what the vice president did on Tuesday, he was challenging the NDC to compare their records to theirs. I have heard that the NDC will respond come Monday. So that is the debate that is going on but it would have been nicer to have the two presidential candidates to stand on the same podium and debate. Even the body language of an individual tells a lot. Debates are very relevant in knowing the person about his depths”, he said.

While Dr. Jinapor made his observation that the debates had already begun, he proposed that organized debates by independent bodies, as important as it is, can only be part and parcel of our electoral process if it is established, institutionalized and well-defined. “For instance, when you consider our electoral process, one needs to go through verification before voting. It is part and parcel of our electoral system. So if we have a process that says when we have an election, the two major contenders must go through a debate then it is something that is not debatable”, he instanced.

Ex-President Mahama, in addressing the Chiefs and elders of Dzolokpuita in the Ho West constituency as part of his four-day tour of the Volta Region on Wednesday, stated that he was ready to face President Nana Addo in a debate to settle the issue of infrastructure records especially as the NDC has a superior record of investing in infrastructure throughout the country.