Former President John Mahama filed his nomination papers for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer election on Tuesday.
A month after selecting the nomination form, Professor Joshua Alabi, the former President’s campaign manager in the 2020 elections, led a team to submit the completed forms on Mahama’s behalf at the party’s headquarters in Accra.
He was accompanied by party heavyweights such as Dr. Valerie Sawyerr, the MP for Ablekuma South, Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, and Peter Boamah Otokunor, the NDC’s immediate past deputy general secretary.
Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, the party’s general secretary, received the completed nomination forms, indicating that the former president had cleared that hurdle and could now prepare for vetting.
He was flanked by members of the election management committee, led by Kakra Essamuah, who also serves as the party’s Communications Director.
The former president was supposed to file his nomination at 1 p.m., but the roads leading to the NDC party’s headquarters in Adabraka were closed an hour before.
Police officers were strategically placed to redirect traffic and maintain order.
Hundreds of NDC supporters gathered outside the headquarters to sing, chant slogans, and dance to NDC songs.
Inside the headquarters, the mammoth crowd struggled to get into the conference hall, where the election management committee was seated, to receive the completed nomination forms.
When Prof. Joshua Alabi, the former president’s campaign manager in the 2020 election, arrived, the crowd erupted, screaming at the top of their lungs.
They shouted slogans such as “Mu y3 y3 y3 a, JM beba”, to wit, come rain, or shine, JM will come.
After inspecting and certifying the nomination forms, the general secretary, who was flanked by the election management team, accepted the forms, indicating that the former President had passed that test.
Prof Alabi spoke to journalists shortly after submitting the forms and assured them that the former President would win the primaries by 99 percent.
“If JM receives 51%, he has won; 60%, he has won; 70%, he has won; 80 or 90%, he has won; but we want 99.9% to send a strong signal to our political opponents that our party is solidly united behind JM,” he said.
He urged all members of the party to rally behind the former president because he was capable of winning the 2024 election.
Prof. Alabi stated that the 2024 election would not be won on a silver platter, which is why the party must unite around their best candidate in order to win the election and form the next government.
He urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure electoral fairness and transparency.
“We do not want to cheat our way into power, so we will not allow anyone to cheat us too. We urge the EC to be firm and balanced in its dealings, rather than pitting one party against the other. All we want is a level playing field for everyone,” he said.
