Political analyst and senior lecturer at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Dr Jonathan Asare Otchere, has admonished the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to win the 2024 election before considering a succession plan regarding who takes over from former President John Mahama.
His comments come on the back of the NDC’s founding member and former special prosecutor, Martin Amidu, urging the party to select a vice presidential candidate who has age on his or her side.
Dr Octchere was speaking on TV3’s Ghana Tonight programme with Alfred Ocansey. He stated, amongst other concerns, that the suggestion by the NDC stalwart “makes some sense but cannot be the ultimate factor.”
He also described the advice by Mr Martin Amidu as “a succession plan” for the party.
“The ultimate factor is that you ought to win power in order for you to think of a succession plan,” he said.
“What I see from Mr Amidu’s epistle is a succession plan,” Dr Otchere stressed, adding that, he sees Mr Mahama as a “change agent” in his second coming.
According to the political analyst, Mr Mahama would want someone who would actualise those changes, saying, “the changes that ought to be made in our governance structure, in the constitution, and so forth.”
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He further noted that the NDC party has the capacity to market any new candidate after the 4-year reign of John Mahama, should he win the December elections.
Also, responding to the assertion about party leadership imposing a candidate on the flagbearer, Dr Otchere said he does not see anything like that happening in the NDC.
“On the presidential candidate, I think it is an unhealthy development. I do not see that happening in the NDC because we are talking about a presidential candidate that has almost 99 percent [of the] votes in the presidential primaries,” he told Alfred Ocansey.
Meanwhile, the NDC leadership has officially confirmed that the party’s 2024 presidential candidate has submitted the proposed name of his running mate to the party.
The committee has therefore set Thursday, March 7, to deliberate on the selection for the subsequent public announcement.
Meanwhile, the NPP candidate, Dr Bawumia, will also name his running mate in the coming days in an attempt to break the ‘eight’ for the party.
