A former ambassador under the John Mahama administration says the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will not change its 2020 flagbearer for the 2024 elections.

Sam Pee Yalley contends that John Mahama will remain the flagbearer for the party in the next polls, contrary to the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU)'s report urging the NDC to revitalise its prospects of winning the next elections with a fresh candidate.

According to the former Maldives, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh ambassador, the party has marketed Mr Mahama for far too long to change him for another candidate.

“I am a very senior member of the party [NDC], and I can tell you that John Mahama will be our candidate. No two ways about that... it's not that I am disparaging others, but if you are a realist, you know what is on the ground.

“He is the one we have marketed. Some people are saying he has done it twice, but Nana Akufo-Addo did more than how many times before he became the President.

"He is the one on whose project and achievements we are going to contest. Therefore, I can tell you without mincing words that John Mahama will be our candidate,” he told Samson Lardy Ayenini on Newsfile.

Ashaiman MP, Ernest Norgbey, has also dismissed portions of the report.

He insists that John Mahama is the best candidate for the 2024 election because of his political history.

Mr Norgbey added that it would be unwise for the party to introduce a new candidate, as that candidate would first have to be accepted by the party’s grassroots before preparing to compete with a government in power.

“I think EIU is a credible institution. They have been in this business for a long time, and I can attest that they have produced many positive outcomes in their election predictions.

"And I cannot doubt their credibility in this matter. However, NDC cannot go into this election with any other candidate than John Dramani Mahama,” he told JoyNews’ Kwesi Parker-Wilson.

Meanwhile, a poll by Global InfoAnalytics Limited has projected John Mahama as the preferred candidate to lead the NDC in the 2024 election.

The 2020 Presidential candidate for the NDC led his opponents with 57 per cent, while Dr Kwabena Duffour had 12 per cent.