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Amina and Asantewaa Rawlings spotting ‘I Love NDP’ T-shirts JJ Rawlings whisperers into Nana Konadu’s ear

Two of the daughters of former President Jerry John Rawlings, founder of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), appear to have dumped the NDC and pitched camp with their mother’s National Democratic Party (NDP).

Amina Rawlings and Yaa Asantewaa Rawlings took the front row at the congress of the NDP at the Trade Fair Site, Accra, on Saturday, displaying their unalloyed support for their mother, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, who was elected unopposed to lead the party in the November presidential election.

They were also seen lending a helping hand to the organisation of the congress with enthusiasm, while joy was written on the face of their mother.

The two daughters wore T-shirts with the bold inscription: “I love NDP” on the chest, while the former president, who was also there to give moral support to his wife, was in his usual beautiful African traditional top with a black pair of trousers to match.

Curiously, the eldest daughter, Dr Zenator Agyeman-Rawlings, who is facing a battle of her life in order to become a parliamentary candidate on the ticket of the NDC, was conspicuously missing at the function.

Although she has managed to win the NDC primary to contest as parliamentary candidate in the Klottey Korley Constituency in Accra, the incumbent MP, Ishmael Nii Armah Ashittey, and some NDC supporters in the constituency have sued her on the grounds that she was not eligible to be in the parliamentary race at the time of the party’s primary.

Their argument has always been that Dr Rawlings was not a registered voter when she was cleared by the NDC vetting committee, insisting that the move was a breach of both the party’s constitution and the 1992 Constitution.

Zenator Rawlings has since taken advantage of the limited voter registration exercise to get her name onto the national biometric register – a move that went viral on social media.

Unopposed

After the close of nominations last Wednesday, it became clear that Mrs Rawlings was going unopposed as flagbearer for the party and the delegates did not disappoint her as they endorsed her.

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After the declaration by the Electoral Commission, Mrs Rawlings called on the members of the party to rally behind her in order to wrestle power from the Mahama-led NDC administration, which she has always accused of running down the country; and called on Ghanaians not to relent in demanding accountability from the government.

“Ghana is a great country but the people are being suffocated with weak and bad governance…Let us join hands and lift our country so we can confront all the negativity.

“I believe that the role of a democratic government is to protect and strengthen liberties and redress the imbalance between powerful and weak, between the rich and poor through a government which invests in people but at the same time is prepared to be accountable to the people for its actions and omissions.

“We can only redress the imbalance if we identify the weakness and emphasise on structural changes which will go a long way to block the loopholes which allow the injustices to be perpetrated in the first place,” she added and urged Ghanaians to vote for a visionary leader.

“It is our responsibility to build a country that gives each individual an equal opportunity. It is our responsibility to give power to leaders who have vision and the common goal of Ghanaians at heart,” Mrs Rawlings stressed.

The NDP flagbearer was disqualified by the EC in the 2012 election.

Jerry Rawlings, who stole the show with his entry to the conference grounds at exactly 12:30 pm, was met with chants and songs as well as appellations and mobbed by the enthusiastic supporters and delegates of the NDP.

Rawlings spoke against tribal politics, noting that multi-party practice in Ghana is leading to expressions that create animosity and violence.

“I owe it a duty and a responsibility to help and bring the best out of each and everyone for the safe, security and stability of this country,” he said.

About 2,000 delegates drawn from the 10 regions of the country attended the conference.