Pollster Ben Ephson has predicted a landslide win for flagbearer aspirant John Dramani Mahama in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential primaries.
Ephson said in an interview on Fiifi Banson TV that any thing below 90% will mean the former president has underperformed in the race that pits him against two others – former finance minister Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and former Kumasi Mayor Kojo Bonsu.
“If John Mahama gets below 90%, I will be surprised, very surprised. Dr. Duffuor is fit to be a presidential candidate. But why will delegates pick somebody who has been marketed, who has been a president for somebody who is new in the terrain?
“Mahama is young and if he gets below 90%, I would be surprised,” the veteran journalist emphasized. He said Duffuor would have done very very well if he is the cause of Mahama’s sub-90% showing.
Asked about the percentages that the other two contenders would get, Duffuor would get 6% and Kojo Bonsu 3%.
Duffuor quits race
With hours to the opening of polls for the presidential and parliamentary primaries, Agbey’s principal, one of the main contenders in the presidential race, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, announced his withdrawal from the flagbearership race.
Speaking at a press briefing held on Friday, May 12, 2023, at the Institute of Fiscal Studies in Accra, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor outlined three main reasons for his decision to bow out of the contest.
The first reason being the party’s leadership’s failure to resolve the irregularities surrounding the voter register. He expressed concerns that the voter register contained many discrepancies that could compromise the election’s integrity.
“At the meeting chaired by the former speaker of parliament, Rt Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho, all stakeholders at the meeting agreed that the Party Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia would immediately set up a technical team comprising the technical representatives from the 3 presidential aspirants and the party’s election committee to determine how soon the irregularities with the voter’s register could be resolved in readiness for the Presidential primaries.
“The technical committee was to subsequently submit a report to parties after this had been determined. As I speak with you, our technical team is currently at the Party headquarters to undertake this activity.
“However, despite the assurances given to myself and my team by the Chairman of the Party, the executives of the party, in an act of complete and unacceptable breach of faith, went ahead to convene a press conference announcing that the elections would go ahead tomorrow, without having resolved the concerns surrounding the voters register as decided at the meeting of the Council of Elders.”
Secondly, Dr. Duffuor expressed dissatisfaction with the NDC leadership’s decision to distribute ballot papers to the various regions and constituencies without involving the candidates.
“…as at this time, the party has begun distributing the ballot papers to the various regions and constituencies without our involvement.”
Finally, Dr. Duffuor accused the NDC of not being ready to conduct a free and fair election.
“I wish to reiterate my commitment to the party and its grassroots. However, my concerns that the party is not ready to conduct a free and fair election is evident for all to see. Taking part in such would be akin to knowingly drinking from a poisoned calabash,’ he added.
Earlier, GhanaWeb reported that Dr. Kwabena Duffuor had withdrawn an interlocutory injunction filed against the party primaries.
Dr. Kwabena Duffuor filed a case in court on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, for an interlocutory injunction on the NDC primaries.
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