<<Print>>The governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), has accused the People’s National Convention (PNC) of betraying them merely because its Flagbearer, Dr. Edward Mahama, participated in the Institute of Economic Affiars’ (IEA) Evening Encounter Series on Tuesday.
According to the party’s General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the NDC boycotted the IEA events to among other things fight for equal opportunities for smaller parties in the country. In an exclusive interview with Citi News’ Umaru Sanda Amadu, Mr. Asiedu Nketia said it was thus surprising to see the PNC’s flagbearer on the IEA’s platform. “…we were surprised to see PNC, one of the parties we were fighting for, to now accept a private arrangement to go and appear on that platform. If we had insisted that each one for himself God for us all, so we are not affected by that decision to cut off other people, after all, we are big, let us go in, will PNC have gotten the opportunity to participate?”
We’ve learnt a lesson
He clarified that although the betrayal is insignificant, it has thought them a lesson. “The betrayal in our view is not consequential; it just puts us on alert that any time they are in trouble they wouldn’t need anybody to come to their defense.”
The NDC had announced a total boycott of the IEA debates and other events, and has directed its candidates [Presidential and Parliamentary] to stay away from the institute’s platform. This they said was because the IEA had decided to hold separate debate for flagbearers of the two leading political parties, NPP and NDC. They also accused the IEA of not consulting them ahead of its decision. The PNC’s presidential candidate Dr. Edward Mahama participated in the IEA’s Evening Encounter Series on Tuesday. Asiedu Nketia argued that the change in IEA’s current debates is a deviation from the norm. “If it was going to be the presidential debate fine, because that is the principle we have established and we’ve been doing it like that.
Besides that one, if IEA was taking the challenge of the president to organize Mahama, Akufo Addo debate separately from the presidential debate, that could have been clarified. But now you are going to change the rules and make it look like this year it is the presidential debate.” “…Now if that is going to be the presidential debate and we have not changed the structures of Ghana’s political parties programme of which four parties are represented, so after the debate between Mahama and Akuffo-Addo, what happens to the platform? What happens to the caucuses?”