There have been calls on President John Dramani Mahama to participate in the IEA evening encounter for Presidential candidates for the sake of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The ruling NDC had earlier declined participation when the late President Mills was in office due to the refusal of incumbent Presidents to participate in the event.
The Director of the School of Communications at the University of Ghana, Dr. Margaret Amoakohene said it is necessary for incumbent Presidents to participate in such events for their own good. According to her, it will give them the chance to account for their time in office. �Going forward, it will be in the interest of incumbent Presidents to appear because human minds change all the time and both communication and politics are dynamic. Therefore, there may come a time that the voters that you have taken for granted will decide that we will look another way,� she opined.
She added that �it doesn�t matter whether you are in power or out of power, at least make a presence.� But the NDC has reiterated that it is sticking to its earlier decision not to partake in the IEA Presidential Evening Encounters.
The General Secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia told Citi News, the President will only be adhering to precedence. In explaining the stance of the party, Mr. Nketia stated that �President Kufuor when in power what did he do? He did not take part so another president comes and says if that is the rule, I want to uphold what my predecessors have left.�
He added that �Currently, President Mahama is the incumbent so if he doesn�t participate, it is very consistent with the laid down procedures that we have applied in this whole Presidential debate.�
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