NDC has become undemocratic –Founding member

A founding member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Martin Amidu has described as undemocratic the party’s decision to allow President John Dramani Mahama to contest as a sole candidate during the presidential and parliamentary primaries.

Speaking to journalists after voting in the Madina Constituency in Saturday’s primaries to elect parliamentary candidates and also to endorse the candidature of President Mahama, Mr. Amidu said he dislikes a ballot paper which has just one person on it.

Mr. Amidu condemned the sidelining of one George Boateng, who sought to contest against President Mahama.

Mr. George Boateng, the NDC’s Oyarifa Branch Youth Organizer, could not achieve his dream of contesting against Mahama after he was branded as “mentally insane” by some leading members of the NDC including, the General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketsia.

Mr. George Boateng picked nomination forms from the party headquarters to contest President John Dramani Mahama, but Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketsia said Mr. Boateng’s forms had been wrongfully acquired and that the party could not receive it.

Party officers who sold the forms to him were eventually penalized for supposedly not following due procedures.

But Mr. Martin Amidu, who is has gained the respect of Ghanaians due to his crusade against corruption says “all these were a calculated attempt to prevent anyone from contesting President Mahama, describing it an undemocratic act for a party that is known to be democratic.

“I have voted and I am expecting that the people’s choice will emerge even if I don’t like it. You know I have told you that I don’t like an Orwellian state. I don’t like a situation where you have only one candidate and then anyone who wants to contest is deemed to be a madman and excluded; it’s not democratic,” he stated.

Unfortunately we are in a democratic state and not in soviet Russia. But I don’t like a ballot on which there is only one candidate; it’s too Orwellian. And then the candidate who wanted to contest they branded him insane just like whatever you challenge in this country they say you are insane; it’s not right; it’s not democratic and that’s why I say Orwellian big brother state. But what my vote is, I keep it to myself” he stated.

So far, provisional results from Saturday’s elections have shown that not all members of the NDC are in support of President Mahama’s candidature as some have voted “No” against him.

Source: Michael Creg Afful

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