President John Evans Atta Mills (right) and Vice President John Dramani Mahama
President John Evans Atta Mills yesterday named his Vice, John Dramani Mahama as his preferred choice for running mate on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2012 general elections, which promises to be interesting considering the rising political temperature in the country.
This, according to sources, was after a crunch National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting which was held at the Local Government Institute at Madina, Accra, to decide the fate of the NDC after a bitter and rancorous Sunyani congress which elected President Mills, against the will of the party’s founder and former President, Jerry John Rawlings, who preferred his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings to lead the party.
Jerry Rawlings did not attend the meeting even though he is a member of the NEC.
General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that President Mills had consulted with the NEC and it was agreed that Vice President Mahama be retained as the running mate.
According to sources, President Mills called his vice around 3.00pm to convey the message to him.
“He received a personal call that the party has agreed that he should partner him for the 2012 elections. And he was grateful,” John Jinapor, spokesperson to Vice President John Mahama said.
Even though the President had successfully won congress, there were speculations and reports of his intentions to step down for his Vice because of ill-health.
Unlike the 2008 general elections where the NDC launched a three-pronged campaign which saw President Mills, John Mahama and Mr Rawlings campaigning in different parts of the country at the same time, this time around, Mr Rawlings has vowed not to campaign for the party because he had no message for Ghanaians.
The party has also decided to open nominations for Parliamentary Candidates in its orphan constituencies on Tuesday August 16, to ensure adequate preparations to win those seats in the 2012 elections.
Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is yet to name his running mate even though speculations are rife that Nana Addo may retain Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, his running mate in the 2008 elections; while Ambrose Dery, deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, lurks in the corner.
Nana may maintain former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia considering the difficulty in marketing an all-new person.
Other political parties including Nkrumah’s Convention People’s Party (CPP), Peoples National Convention (PNC) and the late Dan Lartey’s Great Consolidate Peoples Party (GCPP) have not yet dreamt of electing a flagbearer, let alone a running mate.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu