The National Democratic Congress (NDC) stands on the threshold of adding to its stock of democratic feats chalked up since its founding in 1992 as delegates' converge on Sunyani Saturday to elect a flag bearer to lead the party to the 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections. To all intents and purposes, history beckons as two leading personalities of the party - the incumbent President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, and a former First Lady and wife of former President J.J. Rawlings, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings - put their respective bids before 3,150 delegates drawn from 230 constituency branches and other organs of the party. History will be made if President Mills wins because not only would he have been the first sitting President in the country's history to have emerged unscathed and reinvigorated from an internal party contest in his first term in office, but also he would have set an enviable record of holding the highest number of flag-bearer titles - four. Should Nana Konadu win, she will be the first woman in the country to successfully break the monopoly of male dominance of flag-bearer positions of political parties in the country. But as the nation waits with bated breath for the over 3,000 king-making delegates to decide who wears the crown, the foremost questions that arise are: What does each contender possess and bring to the contest? Exactly what mettle are they made of that qualifies them to aspire to lead the nation for another four years under the country's democratic dispensation? In the case of President Mills, the tradition of politics within the NDC in particular and the national polity in general runs in his favour. No president since the time of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, has had the task of being challenged and successfully at that for the top position within the ranks of his own party. In the NDC in 1995, then President Rawlings, in spite of whatever misgivings raised by some members, secured the total loyalty of members to go unopposed for a second term as President. The same went for President John Agyekum Kufuor in 2003 in the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which also culminated in a second term for him and the NPP. Additionally, the country's political trend or culture of giving a sitting President a second chance to complete his agenda enhances the positive side of President Mills. But perhaps one of the strongest points of the incumbent President is his impressive record of achievement in just the last two-and-a-half years he assumed the reins of government of the country. On the economic front, he has managed to stabilise the economic, brought inflation down from a high of over 18 per cent when he took power to a single digit of about nine per cent. The exchange rate of the cedi has also witnessed relative stability, the country's foreign reserves have been boosted from about $2 billion to $3.8 billion, along with falling interest rates and others. There have also been impressive records in governance, infrastructure development in health, education and other spheres of human endeavour. For her part, Nana Konadu, from the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) era to the NDC under President Rawlings, has been an eloquent champion of the emancipation and empowerment of women and children. The championing of the Intestate Succession Law and other legislation has culminated in the creation of a conducive atmosphere for women to assert their rights and function as partners of men in the development of the nation. Additionally, she saw to the establishment of 31st December Women's Movement business entities across the country, including cassava processing factories, batik tie and dye and small scale food processing entities, which have served as centres that have enabled thousands of women to empower themselves and cater fur the needs and aspirations of their children. It is also worth pointing out that the 31st December Women's Movement, though an NGO, has, over the years, served as a potent instrument of political mobilisation for the NDC, especially in periods of national electioneering. These are thus the contrasting personalities before the delegates at the Sunyani Coronation Park Saturday for whom the crucial decision is to be made. From all indications, it no longer appears to be a matter of President Mills will win. It is about what the margin of the victory will be. In reaching the verdict, most of the NDC delegates will be mindful that this is an internal contest to select someone who can make the party stronger in the 2012 elections. As important as who wins the contest is the immediate aftermath of the contest so is the need for reconciliation. Not only should the winner demonstrate immense maturity and magnanimity towards the loser; but also he or she should also move fast to heal the rifts and wounds opened up by the contest. Such acts, including the formation of an all-inclusive campaign team, are vital to the prosecution of an effective campaign to retain power in the 2012 elections. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana