Former President and immediate past flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, will not be voting at the party’s national delegates congress in Accra to demonstrate his neutrality in the elections.

It is also to engender party cohesion, as well as demonstrate his readiness to work with all duly elected officials. His running mate in the 2020 national presidential elections, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang will similarly not vote.

Explaining the rational for the pair’s decision not to take part in the voting, North Tongu MP and former Deputy Education Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the decision was in the interest of the party.

“I am really impressed with the leadership of the former flagbearer. You know, his commitment that he is for party unity, he is not going to take sides, he is not going to campaign for anybody, and to concretise that, to put a seal on that, he decided that he won’t vote at all, so he is not voting in this election. He is not voting.

“And the former Running Mate (Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang) has also decided to follow that example, she is also not voting at all, to bring some confidence to delegates, to the rank and file that look, they stand in readiness to work with whoever emerges. They are really about party unity, party cohesion – let us unite and present a very formidable force, because look, the Ghanaian people are looking up to us."

“We are going through the worst economic crisis in living memory. Inflation in excess of 50 percent, debt to GDP in excess of 100 percent. For the first time, a nomenclature called haircut is dominating the national discourse, it’s never happened. I mean since the Acheampong era of the ‘70s when the military junta at the time said ‘yentua’ (We will not pay), in all our democratic era, there’s never been a time that we have been faced with defaulting on our debt. And people’s life savings, people’s pensions, people’s investments are now at stake and now you’ve seen the unions are up in arms, from TUC, to UTAG, to TEWU, to the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association… So you see, all of these groups are up in arms, they are deeply disappointed. And you see, we cannot afford to fail the Ghanaian people…”

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