Former President Jerry John Rawlings said on Saturday that he should not be blamed for the defeat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2016 General Election.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President-elect, captured the seat from President John Dramani Mahama with an excess of about one million gaining 53.85 per cent of the total votes cast.
The NDC also lost over 40 seats to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the keenly contested elections on December 7.
Former President Rawlings was addressing a ceremony to mark the 35th anniversary of the 31st December Revolution at the Revolution Square in Accra.
According to Former President Rawlings instead of blaming him for the loss, he thought the NDC rather lost the elections due to some “uncouth and uncultured” elements in the party who would not listen and chose to ignore every advice.
He said he was sorry that instead of facing the truth about the NDC’s loss, people were blaming him and trying to make him the scapegoat for their failures.
The former President, who is also the founder of the NDC and the leader of the of the 31st December Revolution, said the NDC did not perform well in the elections because it did not understand and under estimated the dynamics of human nature.
He expressed concern about the general negativity, impunity, disrespect and corruption that, he said, was taking the party downhill and loosing the goodwill of the people.
Ghana’s former President said the NDC’s massive rejection at the polls was a clear indication that the party has lost the moral high ground and that it lost the elections way before December 7 because it chose to “persistently and unrepentantly stay on the slippery slope despite the warning lights right in its face.”
He noted that God’s given direction for leadership are the principles of integrity, probity and accountability and though there were some good people who would ensure these principles were upheld, they were never given the opportunity.
“There were some good people; very good people but leadership and the command structure did not empower them to override those who were destroying the party and the government,” Former President Rawlings said.
Source: GNA
