Former President John Dramani Mahama risks losing all his hard work to a miscarriage if he fails to stay on a focused path and continues to dwell on national issues as a campaign tactic, Editor in Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako has said.
Commenting on the NDC’s flagbearership race ahead of the 2020 polls, he noted that Mr. Mahama, though is the most probable candidate to lead the party in the upcoming polls, may be disappointed if he continues his campaign on the back of launching national issues. This same strategy he says may give him an upper hand against his opponents for a while but very likely, will drag him down in the final polls when the same issues are picked and debased with evidence.
“In Mahama’s case, he is launching national issues because none of his competitors really have the same level of the cloud but if he is not careful, his campaign will suffer premature ejaculation before he wins the elections. He’s launched national issues and his opponents are already dealing with him on all those issues, not just internal but external as well”
“He will win the primaries, become the flagbearer, by which time I think he would have been muzzled so bad and I’m not talking insults, I’m talking checkmate, people taking the things he is putting out there and debasing them using facts”.
Mr. Baako is, however, positive that focusing on winning the delegates will largely guarantee him victory. Working on the identified loopholes that caused the defeat in 2016 could also earn the party a re-win in 2020, he says.
“I’m surprised John Mahama is not focusing on delegates alone. I can see what he is doing, he is clearing the delegates, he will win, hands down, I’ll be shocked if he loses this thing. Their focus should be on delegates and perhaps the Kwasi Botchwey report because they know the content. They should focus because something went wrong with the machinery. That should be the focus but some of them have decided to stretch the scope, they are talking to school children, everybody and they are launching national issues.’ I’m surprised there’s a little bit of lack of focus.”
Kweku Baako who described Mr. Mahama as ‘the only choice’ NDC has at this time also noted that the individual who would be chosen as the running mate of Mr. Mahama will play a critical role in determining if the party rules for a term or two after winning power.
“His opponents say this man will run one term, they don’t see this as too good for the party, they want someone who will run two terms for the party. At this point, he is the only choice they have.”
“Perhaps who he picks as running mate then should be looking beyond 2024, so he could go one term but depending on who he puts there as running mate, the party can still remain competitive towards the 2024 elections”.
At least five aspirants for the 2020 National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer have been meeting to consider plans to ensure the party's presidential candidate is not the frontrunner, former President John Mahama.
He would not name the other four but said they have a common understanding that the party needs to change a different president candidate for the 2020 general elections.
Meanwhile, John Mahama has already started campaigning in some regions of the country ahead of the NDC primaries.
