The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has positioned that the make-up of their 2020 election campaign team gives them a competitive edge over the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
A member of the NDC’s communication team, Abraham Amaliba, in an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, disclosed that among other factors, the NDC made its selection of its campaign team members on ethnic lines which they believe will fetch them the needed votes.
“You need to take the ethnic balance into consideration. So you need to look at where your presidential candidate is coming from, where your running mate is coming from and you see that probably a certain ethnic group has been left out. So Joshua Alabi, for instance, has satisfied the Ga caucus. So these are some of the things that you look out for and people who can articulate the vision of the leader anytime you call them for interviews”, he stated.
Juxtaposing the composition of the NDC campaign team to that of the NPP campaign team, Abraham Amaliba opined that the NPP team only reiterates the perception that the NPP as an ‘Akan’ oriented party.
He explained, “Looking at Mac Manu’s ethnic background, it is the same as the presidential candidate. So it reinforces the perception that this is an Akan party.
The fact that our running mate is coming from the Akan ethnic group and our presidential candidate is from the North, you will need somebody who will satisfy the Ga caucus. And then you also need somebody who will satisfy the Ewe caucus. So you see Joshua Alabi and Alex Segbefia dealing with that. These people must fetch votes. They are not just decorative pieces. In their campaigns, they must be able to garner some votes. I see that, in that regard, the NDC has done something which is above the NPP”.
He sought to challenge the notion that people do not vote on ethnic lines by arguing that such a notion is false. He believed that in actual fact, some people vote based on ethnicity rather than on policies.
“This campaign team which is crafted to represent the various ethnic group can go into their ethnic backgrounds and fetch votes. Anybody who thinks that people don’t vote on ethnic lines in this country is deceiving himself. That is the truth. I have heard people make comments on voting based on ethnic lines. So anybody who behaves like an ostrich and says that some people don’t vote according to ethnic lines; that is a lie. Even in the US, they vote according to ethnic lines. You will realize the presumptive candidate of the Democrats has won in his home city. Why would they mention the word, home city?”.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has appointed members of its National Campaign team to facilitate its campaign towards the December 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
In the press statement signed by the NDC’s Director of Communication, Kakra Essamuah, Prof Joshua Alabi has been appointed the National Campaign Manager, with Alex Segbefia as his deputy.
Below are other members of the NDC Campaign Team
Lt. Col. Larry Gbevlo-Lartey (Rtd)- Director of Operations for the campaign
James Agyenim Boateng- Campaign Spokesperson
Mawuena Trebah and Margaret Ansei- Deputy Campaign Spokespersons
Gen. R.S. Blay (Rtd)- Strategic Advisor to the Campaign Team
Lawyer Sammy Gyamfi-Member
Hon Julius Debrah-Member
Hon Kofi Totobi Quakyi-Member
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu-Member
Hon Hudu Yahaya-Member
George Opare Addo-Member
Ambassador Sam Pee Yalley-Member
Dr. Valerie Sawyer-Member
Hon Elvis Afriyie Ankrah-Member
Hon Samuel Ofosu Ampofo-Member
Ambassador Victor Smith-Member
Comrade Joshua Akamba-Member
Dr. Hannah Louisa Bissiw-Member
Alhaji Mohammed Mamah-Member
Hon Samuel Sarpong-Member
Dr. Nana Ama Brown Klutse-Member
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah
