The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has given yet another indication that Ghanaians want the party to not repeat its 2020 presidential candidate in the 2024 election.
A group of Ghanaians have been saying that they will readily vote for the party if it either makes Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin or former Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor as flag bearer for 2024.
In random interviews conducted in Aboabo Zongo in the Ashanti Region, interviewees also said an even surer ticket for the NDC in 2024 would be a pairing of Hon. Alban Bagbin and Dr. Kwabena Duffuor.
“I would advise the NDC to make Mr. Alban Bagbin as Flag Bearer and Dr. Kwabena Duffuor as his Running Mate for 2024, because such a combination will be impossible to beat,” said Mr. G Tahiru.
According to him, “that combination would satisfy the Northern and Southern representation that voters expect from political parties on presidential tickets as Mr. Bagbin is from the Northern part of the country and Dr. Duffuor is from the Southern part.
Also, if the two win, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor’s position as Vice President would put him in charge of the Economy and I think that with the current economic difficulties, somebody like Dr. Duffuor would be a perfect fit for the role as head of the Economic Management Team,” Mr. Tahiru added.
Another interviewee, Mr. Mohammed Alhassan, said the Duffuor/Bagbin combo would be the best for the NDC but that it would be more winnable if Dr. Duffuor is made the flagbearer and Bagbin, the Running Mate.
“This is because, Dr. Duffuor’s background as an Ashanti would help the NDC make deep incursion into the Ashanti Region, which is the stronghold of the governing NPP.
Traditionally, where the NDC 10 percent of votes in Ashanti Region, the NDC wins national elections.”
Other interviewees, Mr. Jacob Yakubu, Dr. Kusi Afari-Oppong and Madam Dian Akosua Bisa, also said the Bagbin – Duffuor combo would be a master stroke for the NDC.
“For one, these two gentlemen do not have scandalous perceptions about them like the 2020 candidate of the party and would therefore be hard for the NPP to taint,” said Dr. Afari-Oppong.
On her part, Madam Akosua Bisa said the combination would be “an offer from the NDC that Ghanaians cannot reject, especially because of the ethnic dynamics and economic prowess of Dr. Duffuor, who is touted as the best Central Bank Governor and best Finance Minister in the Fourth Republic. It was under Dr. Duffuor that the Mills government achieved single-digit inflation and this would easily resonate with the voters.”
All interviewees agreed that the NDC would find it tough to sell former President Mahama to voters again because of the damage that the NPP has managed to do to his reputation.
According to Dr. Afari-Oppong, “a Bagbin-Duffuor ticket would really hurt the NPP in the Ashanti Region if the NPP elects Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia as presidential candidate for 2024.”
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Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and Alban Bagbin