Asiedu Nketiah cautions against early NDC 2028 flagbearer campaigns

National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has cautioned party members against starting campaigns for the 2028 presidential flagbearership.

He said such activities were “premature and counterproductive.”

Asiedu Nketiah explained that it was wrong for NDC members to push 2028 campaign ambitions when President John Dramani Mahama’s government had not completed a year in office.

“If you campaign to replace President John Dramani Mahama when the government has not even attained a year in office and, for that matter, achieve its goals, then we are not serious as a political party,” he said.

The NDC chairman’s comments came during his three-day “Thank You” tour of the Eastern Region from September 17 to 19. Visiting 16 constituencies, he told supporters that “individuals harbouring presidential ambitions must rather support President Mahama to deliver on his agenda of resetting the economy and improving livelihoods.”

He recalled that the NDC’s 2024 campaign strategy placed President Mahama and Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang in the presidential race while he focused on parliamentary support, which contributed to the party’s gains. Asiedu Nketiah added that the party had not fixed dates for its next congress or flagbearer contest and urged members to remain patient and united.

However, the Anchoring Democracy Advocacy Movement Ghana (ADAM-GH) has cautioned the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its leadership.

He urged them to be circumspect in their dealings as the country heads toward the 2028 general elections.

Reacting to calls for unity within the New Patriotic Party (NPP), ADAM-GH warned that disunity and apathy among grassroots supporters could cost any political party victory, regardless of its numerical strength.

“NPP has six million voters, and NDC also has six million voters. Any party that will allow apathy and disunity to set in, and 5% of your core supporters refuse to vote, you are out,” the group cautioned.

According to ADAM-GH, loyal party members remain the driving force behind electoral victories since they are the ones who mobilize floating voters on election day. “A floating voter can be sitting in the house on election day without going out to vote. It takes a diehard party member to go and call them and sometimes give them transportation to go and vote. So as a party, when you lose your base due to apathy and disunity, no floating voter can save that party,” it noted.