Mr. Rawlings, who stopped short of stating the basis for his assertion, however, gave the assurance that he will illuminate further on the subject at the celebration of June 4, 2011.
Addressing well-wishers who gathered at the Accra International Conference Center for the launch of his wife’s campaign for the NDC flagbearership slot on Wednesday May 4, Mr. Rawlings said until the NDC changes gear and the driver, (referring to President Mills), the party can never win the 2012 elections.
According to him, “there are some people in the who NDC were afraid and intimidated by the power of the people. But that was precisely what the NDC needed to be able to deal with some of the problems that was created by the NPP”.
“Some of our delegates are not aware that we started losing 2012 within the first week. I will demonstrate to you the high acrimony that was in the country when we meet on June 4…We finally lost it eight months back, 2012 was lost eight months ago. Yeah! So until we change gear, until we change the driver…, I say this without malice or I say this without any disrespect to the professor but I guess we all have our limitations… he has his I have mine. The time has come and the change must take place to enable us rescue this county,” he stated.
Quite uncharacteristic of him, ex-president Rawlings delivered what can perhaps be described as his shortest speech at a political function. A little over 12minutes. But though pithy, his speech was quite poignant significant and pregnant with meaning. He revealed that the upcoming NDC congress should have taken place towards the end of last year, but when the Mills’ faction realized that defeat could be staring them in the face, they maneuvered to have the date shifted to July of this year.
“The congress that is slated to take place in July should have taken place towards the end of last year but when they did their research, they discovered that this lady (Nana Konadu) was going to beat them…that her score was going to be over theirs as high as 80 percent because at that time they had simply concentrated on giving positions and contracts to chairpersons and regional executives forgetting that there were thousands of delegates and party members around…So they decided to push the Congress to March of this year (2011) so they could do more research but the votes had fallen by 76 percent so they decided to push it to July. They cannot go beyond that because it’s embarrassing to them and all of us,” he asserted.
The former President urged NDC delegates not to retain his protégé since according to him; Prof Mills will lose the 2012 General Elections.
“You (Mills) will win but you will go and lose the national election. Let us wake up to the reality on the ground. This reality is on the ground and anybody knows it. If any elections were conducted today, we all know our fate. Let’s stop being selfish and do what we must do. I am not saying it out of spite because I had supported my friend when all the people around him deserted him,” he said.
He warned against attempts to bribe delegates with appointments and cash saying their actions would definitely fail.
“The true justice and accountability, respect and trust for one another is what kept us so united and strong over the years. The NPP with all the money could not beat us. If you attempt it (bribery)in NDC, you will be destroyed. We are men of conscience and high principles. Hold onto them and try to adopt your constituencies and tell them to listen to the voice outside…Lets not allow ourselves to make this mistake again. It may be painful, nervous and jittery but that is the only medicine we have to take. Let’s wake up to the reality. The truth is staring at us in the face but some of our comrades up there seem to be so intoxicated and have lost touch with the reality on the ground,” Mr. Rawlings stated.
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