Mahama going unopposed is undemocratic - Amidu

It is “Orwellian” and “undemocratic” for President John Mahama to run unopposed in the governing National Democratic Congress’ presidential primaries, former Attorney General Martin Amidu has said.

“…I don’t like an Orwellian state. I don’t like a situation where you have only one candidate.

“It’s not democratic…unfortunately, we are in a democratic country, we are not in Soviet Russia… I don’t like a ballot on which there is only one candidate,” the anti-corruption campaigner told Citi FM in an interview after voting on Saturday.

The NDC’s Oyarifa branch Youth Organiser, George Boateng, intended contesting the President for the slot, but nominations forms sold to him for that purpose were later said to be mere drafts.

Administrative officers of the party, who sold the forms to Mr Boateng were sacked.

Mr Boateng was also not received at the party’s headquarters when he went there to present his nomination forms in September. His sanity was also questioned by some leaders of the party.

“I have information that [General Secretary] Asiedu Nketia and the rest want to disqualify me on the basis that I’m mentally sick, and I will never allow that to happen. So to ensure that they don’t use that against me, I have decided to go for a test at the Pantang Hospital by 10 am,” Mr Boateng, who said he will encourage controlled cultivation and export of marijuana as a president, told journalists in September.

At Saturday’s primaries, about 2.7 million party members cast their ‘yes’ or ‘no’ votes in relation to President Mahama’s candidature, since he went unopposed. In Mr Amidu’s view, “it’s too Orwellian and then the candidate, who wanted to contest [him], they branded him insane just like anything you challenge, they say you are insane. It’s not right, it’s undemocratic,” he said.