Mahama announced his decision to retain Amissah-Arthur to the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National Council, the highest decision making bodies of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Monday.
Groups within the ruling party prior to the endorsement of the running mate were lobbying the presidency for the current soft-spoken Ghanaian Vice President to be changed.The Volta Youth for Development, a group in the Volta Region (Province), the stronghold of the ruling party was advocating for the Speaker of Parliament, Doe Adjaho to be named the running mate to Mahama in the 2016 polls while another group, pushed for the Foreign Affairs Minister, Hanna Serwaa Tetteh.
Mahama is said to have settled on the former Governor of the Central Bank here because of the “close working relationship” between them as well as the “confidence” Amissah-Arthur brings on the president’s campaign for election 2016.
Presidential candidate for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, few months after being elected flagbearer of the party in August 2014 retained his 2012 running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for next year’s polls.
The two main political parties in the West African country will be presenting the same personalities that contested the 2012 presidential election on their tickets to Ghanaians to decide on once more.
Other political parties are yet to elect their presidential candidates for them to announce their running mates for next year’s polls. Enditem
Source: Xinhua.
