Strengthening NDC branches key to 2024 victory – Duffuor
Former governor of the Bank of Ghana Kwabena Duffuor has called on the rank and file of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to join him to focus on doing everything to strengthen and energize the party machinery at the grassroots level to enable the party to reorganize to capture power in 2024.
The former finance minister has been speaking during outreach meetings with NDC constituency and branch executives in the Ashanti region, where the party has focused its attention in the past couple of weeks, as part of its official re-organisation efforts leading to the election of branch, constituency, regional and national internal elections to choose new leaders for the party.
As the biggest opposition party begins its reorganization efforts toward strengthening the party machinery to capture power in 2024, some people have speculated about who ends up as the party’s next flag bearer.
However, the party cannot choose a flag bearer until after it has reorganized and elected new party executives at all levels of the party beginning with the branches, the base of the party structure.
The Ashanti region has 47 constituencies, the largest in the entire country.
In a social media post, the former finance minister under the Mills administration and business magnate explained the purpose of his recent meetings with NDC grassroots members.
“Last weekend, I met a number of branch and constituency executives in the Ashanti Region, as part of efforts towards party re-organisation”.
He also added, “We discussed matters relating to the restructuring of our branch leadership, grassroots mobilization and coordination with constituents.”
Dr Duffuor, a leading member of the NDC from the Ashanti region, an electoral Waterloo for the NDC, is widely rumored to be seriously lacing his boots to run for President in 2024 as the NDC’s flag bearer.
But he must first win the internal race to lead the party.
As one of a few leading members of the NDC of high repute in the Ashanti region, Dr Duffuor’s trump card, if he runs for President, may be a historic effort to deliver his home region to the NDC for victory in the next general elections.
Although former President John Manama is yet to make a formal declaration of his interest in coming back to lead the NDC, he may have to prepare for his stiffest ever internal competition from Dr Kwabena Duffuor, a self-made man who seems currently to be the only brave man within the NDC capable of challenging the party establishment for internal change.
As the months go by, it will become clearer to NDC members and Ghanaians in general if this is the beginning of the battle for the control of the centre of power within the opposition NDC party.
The NDC will elect its flag bearer for the 2024 presidential elections toward the end of 2022 or the early part of 2023 in accordance with its constitution which dictates that a flag bearer should be elected 22 clear months before the general elections when the party is in opposition.