Vice President and flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging former President John Mahama to a presidential debate ahead of the December elections.
However, former President John Mahama has declined the invitation, prompting Dr. Bawumia to accuse him of avoiding the debate because he fears his “bad record” as President will be exposed.
“The former President knows he cannot compete because, in every sector of the economy, the records show that we have performed far better than him,” Dr. Bawumia told supporters at Dansoman in Accra on Monday evening.
He explained “That’s why I challenged him. If he believes he performed better in any sector, he should come for an open debate. But he is afraid, so he is running away from it.”
This is not the first time Dr. Bawumia has challenged Mahama to a debate.
In 2020, he issued a similar challenge, which Mahama declined, citing concerns about the format and moderators.
Dr. Bawumia’s latest challenge comes on the heels of Mahama’s refusal to participate in a similar presidential debate organized by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).
Mahama’s campaign team claimed that the debate was not properly organized and that the moderators were biased.
However, Dr. Bawumia remains undeterred, insisting that a debate is necessary to allow Ghanaians to assess the candidates’ policies and track records.
“We have not forgotten all these bad records. We are moving forward. We are making progress with digitalization. As President, he couldn’t provide chalk to schools, but we have provided laptops to senior high students. This is the progress the country has made, and we want to move forward and make it even better,” Dr. Bawumia said.
The debate challenge has sparked a heated exchange between the two camps, with each side accusing the other of fear and incompetence.
-BY Daniel Bampoe