Former Ghanaian President Jerry John Rawlings said he is far from optimistic about the electoral chances of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), the party he founded in the 1990s.
The NDC under John Dramani Mahama lost power to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of current President Nana Akuffi Addo in December 2016 and has since then been rocked by squabblings among its members.
Rawlings speaking at a conference of the cadres of the party on Saturday stated categorically that he is skeptical about its chances in the 2020 general election, a pessimism shared by many grandees of the NDC.
He said the NDC would be entering next year’s election from a position of weakness borne by deep divisions, a factor which helped the ruling NPP wrest power from it.
“Some of the leaders in the party have squeezed power in their pockets and want some personalities to retire and allow them to move in and prepare for 2024” election, Rawlings who ruled Ghana from 1981 to 2001, told delegates at the conference.
A section of the NDC recently criticized the founder of the party for remaining quiet over corruption cases which have engulfed the ruling NPP government accusing him of receiving ‘freebies’ from Jubilee House.
Mr. Rawlings openly confirmed that he has been receiving some items from the government to support his philanthropic work in the country.
Professor Joshua Alabi, a failed presidential aspirant of the party described the conference as the beginning of the mobilization of the members of the NDC ahead of the 2020 general election.
A former Minister of the Eastern Region of Ghana, Mr Antwi Boasiako claimed that the abysmal performance of President Nana Akufo Addo’s government provides the NDC a fertile ground to regain power in 2020.
DAP/as/APA