Mrs. Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings’ decision to lead the National Democratic Party (NDP) to the 2012 election has once again revived the party’s threat to the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) calculations for the 2012 elections.
Rawlings’ loyalists and other dissatisfied members of the NDC who came together to form the NDP have been targeting the ruling party from the onset of the NDP’s formation.
So far, their biggest threat to the NDC, has laid in the number of dissatisfied NDC parliamentary aspirants they have reportedly been able to garner.
NDP members have, however, always seen the Rawlingses as their biggest asset for gaining national profile and attention.
Nana Konadu has been touted as the main brain behind the party, but her husband, former President Jerry John Rawlings, has been more reticent about the NDP, even if the party’s core members say he is supportive of their cause.
The former presidential couple has through their spokesperson, Kofi Adams, insisted on their distinct political personalities.
Nana Konadu importance to the NDP has been seen recently in the party’s decision to keep postponing the deadline for those interested in their presidential slot, with the clear intention of waiting for Mrs. Rawlings to make up her mind.
Now, according to the General Secretary of the NDP, Dr. Joseph Manboa-Rockson, in an interview with Joy FM yesterday, Mrs. Rawlings would be contesting the party’s flagbearership race at the party’s congress slated for the Kumasi sports Stadium this Saturday.
Even though Dr. Manboa-Rockson said two other persons were interested in the flagbearership slot of the NDP, it was his hope that the two will shelve their interest and allow Nana Konadu to be acclaimed as the consensus candidate, to avoid a contest.
“Now that she has shown an interest and a desire to contest, we believe that a consensus will be reached amongst the three so that Mrs. Rawlings becomes the flag bearer and then we get a running mate,” he stated.
Even though the NDP might be aiming for a Reform Party effect on between the country’s two major parties at the last general elections, that goal might not be easy this time around.
NDP’s strength is not known, but the general secretary disclosed in his interview with Joy FM that over 7,500 people are expected to attend the party’s Saturday congress.
Party members, including Nana Konadu herself, have clearly been doing some organisation behind the scenes as testified by some recordings at meetings, which were played on radio.
But the party’s ability to repeat what the Reform Party did to the NDC in 2000 may be hampered by the organisational ability of individuals in the party.
The other drawback for the NDP lies in their relative lateness on the scene and the difficulty of crafting message beyond disappointments with the NDC.
