Daily Dispatch: Mills Picks Mahama

The choice was difficult but in our humble view, the 2008 Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, has made the right choice.

The choice of who would be his running mate for the December 7, 2008 Presidential Elections was between three persons - Mr. John Mahama, Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu and Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni.

Any political party which hopes to win the elections, will have to depend on those who are not their core supporters, these voters are known as floating voters.

To avoid offending the other two candidates, we will proceed to explain the basis of our assertion that of the three leading and well qualified members of the NDC. Mr. Mahama will add relatively more advantages to the NDC ticket.

Ethnicity

Available research indicates that on the average, between 4%-5% of the Ghanaian voters base their choice of who to vote for on ethnicity.

There are few political truisms regarding voting patterns of certain ethnic groups, which we may add, is debatable.

In the main, majority of members of the Ashanti ethnic group are inclined to vote for the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Many members of the Ewe ethnic group will, most likely, vote for the NDC.

The vote of the Dagombas, are in the main, split into two. The Andanis will in the main, vote for the NDC and majority of the Abudus, the NPP.

Gender

We belong to the school of thought that there are many well-qualified Ghanaian women who can even be presidential candidates, on their levels of competence.

However, there are no records or researches to buttress the claim that Ghanaian women will vote for a presidential ticket because there is a woman on that ticket.

The last time a presidential ticket had a woman on it was in 1992 when the presidential candidate of the National Independent Party (NIP), Mr. Kwabena Darko, picked a woman, Prof. Naa Afarley Sackeyfio, as his running mate. He had less than 4% of valid votes cast.

Attraction to youth By elections time, December 7, 2008, over 60% of the Ghanaian population would be below 45 years of age and of the three, Mr. Mahama appeals to most of them. We have some data but it is not widespread and thus, will not use it.

One of the perceptions which have affected the ability of Prof. Mills to attract many more floating voters has been that ex-President Jerry Rawlings will have undue influence on him.

Of the three leading candidates, the choice of the ex-President and his wife, Nana Konadu was Mrs. Mould Iddrisu.

The 'die hard' supporters of the Rawlingses will not be too happy that Prof. Mills has chosen someone he feels he can work with, relatively better and in a more congenial manner.

Such Rawlings admirers will have no choice but to vote for a Mills/Mahama ticket because the ex-President will definitely feel more comfortable under an NDC government than an NPP or Convention People's Party (CPP) government.