A Deputy Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs, Hajia Gariba Boya, says electing former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings as the ruling party’s presidential candidate for 2012, will be a huge blunder.
She told Citi News Mrs. Rawlings has a very bad image and reputation in the eyes of the Ghanaian voter population which makes it dangerous for the NDC to field her as a presidential candidate.
Mrs. Rawlings has not confirmed or denied reports of her purported presidential ambition although there have been numerous campaigning for her by some NDC foot soldiers. She was recently reported in the Daily Guide newspaper as having declared her presidential intentions to the NDC’s Council of Elders at a meeting about two weeks ago.
The Party’s General Secretary denied that report although Mrs. Rawlings has maintained her silence. “She is not someone who can win elections for us in this country and we all know. All the things that are pointing at her whether true or not are not things we can ride on to win elections with her as a flagbearer. There are people who have problems with her in this country and I don’t think we can cause that kind of blunder by getting her as our flagbearer. Winning is out, but for her coming out to try to also deepen the democracy in the party, I have no problem at all” she said.
“For the Presidency I am not too sure. We cannot go and then when she doesn’t win, no woman would want to even go and contest. We want to prepare her. If she really wants to go, she should take her time let us see how we are going to work as a party and so that as a woman if she goes, she is going to win to make us proud” she said.
“But for now, I don’t think we have prepared the minds of Ghanaians for her to run. And again, my problem is whether she can get the nod from delegates to be the flagbearer. And secondly whether she will be able to win the presidency for the NDC in 2012. I don’t think that is possible.”