Alban Bagbin and John Mahama
Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has painted a bleak picture of the National Democratic Congress’ chances in the 2020 general elections if former President Mahama is chosen as presidential candidate.
Speaking to Ago FM, the Nadowli Kaleo lawmaker who is also a flagbearer hopeful of the NDC said the party cannot win the 2020 general elections with Mahama as its flagbearer.
“If I was convinced that the former president could win power for the NDC, I wouldn’t have come up contesting,” said Bagbin. “I am still convinced and sure that whatever they [National executives] do with him as leader NDC cannot win 2020.”
His comments come on the back of claims that the party executives are skewing the presidential primaries contest to favour Mr. Mahama by pegging the filing fee at GHC400,000.
Nine of the flagbearer hopefuls including Bagbin petitioned the NDC’s Council of elders to intervene, describing the fee as unreasonable.
They specifically accused the General Secretary of the NDC masterminding the figure.
Mr Nketia was on record to have declared his support for the candidature of former President Mahama in the race.
The flagbearer hopefuls’ petition to the Elders said the amount does not reflect the social democratic ideals of the party and must be reviewed.
The NDC is yet to receive its copy of the petition, according to Mr Nketia, and as such it will continue with the process.
“We have heard complaints from some of the candidates and some other concerned members of the party. We have also heard about a petition that I’m told is circulating,” he told Starr News’ Eric Egbeta.
“We want to indicate,” he continued “that at the level of the national executives we have not seen that petition yet. And so we are unable to act or restrain our action based on a petition that is circulating somewhere in the media.”
Already some members of the NDC from the Asawase constituency in Ashanti region have picked the GH¢20,000 non-refundable fee presidential nomination forms for former President John Mahama.
It comes as some supporters of the party converge at the Cantonment office of the former President to make donations to enable him to meet the GH¢400,000 filing fee after an open donation appeal by the Mahama campaign team.
-Starrfmonline