Opposition NDC flagbearer aspirant, Sylvester Mensah has stated that the NDC deserves a better alternative as they move into the 2020 election.
According to Sylvester Mensah, the former President, John Mahama who is also seeking to lead the NDC into the 2020 election is not a suitable candidate if the opposition party want to capture power again.
The former NHIA boss is of the view that the NDC will be in “a very awkward position†if former President John Mahama wins the 2020 presidential elections because he can only run for one term.
He further added that, moreover, former President John Mahama had incumbency advantage as well as the privilege of having all the state agencies under his control and yet he lost the 2016 election to the opposition, which was a strong indication that the people didn't want him to continue his administration. "Once former President John Mahama lost the elections from a position of advantage, there is a very slim chance he can win the 2020 election from a position of weakness", Sylvester Mensah added.
Sylvester Mensah picked President John Kuffuor’s second and final term in office from 2005 to 2009 as an example to predict a potentially awkward Mahama presidency.
He said government business came to a standstill two years to the end of his mandate because his ministers and appointees “began looking into the futureâ€.
Eventually, 17 aspirants, mainly his ministers, offered themselves for flagbearer and began political campaigning which affected government work.Â
The NPP, led by Nana Akufo-Addo, lost the 2008 general elections to the NDC candidate Prof. John Evans Atta Mills who later died in office.
“Essentially when you have a candidate who has one-term for the NDC, we are not going to make much progressâ€, he said on Joy News
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer hopefuls who have since declared their intentions to lead the party into the 2020 general elections are in constant deliberations to select a stronger candidate among them to face former President John Mahama.
According to Prime News Ghana's source, a former Communications Minister, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Professor Joshua Alabi, a former Chief Executive Officer for the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Sylvester Mensah and 2nd Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, who are all NDC flagbearer hopefuls are in constant talks in order to strategize well to face John Mahama squarely.
Meanwhile, the former CEO of the NHIA, Sylvester Mensah, has also said former President Mahama is just bowing to pressure from some teeming supporters which is possibly against his will to run for the NDC primaries.
In an Interview on Accra based Starr FM, Mr Mensah revealed that he and other individuals hoping to lead the party have been holding meetings on the nature of the internal campaign but did not confirm or debunked if they are uniting to present a stronger candidate to give former President Mahama a run for his money.
“We have been meeting among ourselves because we appeared to be the only candidates who had declared our interest. We meet to ensure that the campaign becomes decorous and descent†he disclosed.