I was persuaded to accept the NDC Vice Presidential candidate role in 2000 – Martin Amidu reveals

Former Special Prosecutor and longstanding member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC),  Martin Amidu has revealed how he was persuaded to accept his nomination as the NDC’s Vice Presidential candidate for the 2000 General Elections.

Mr Amidu explained that upon his nomination as the running mate of the Presidential candidate of the NDC at the time, Prof John Evans Atta-Mills, Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu had to prevail upon him to accept his nomination before he could be presented to the NDC national leadership for their acceptance or otherwise.

Mr Amidu made the revelation while criticising how choosing key leaders of the two dominant parties in Ghana – the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party(NPP) – has been hijacked by party elites in violation of the 1992 Constitution.

“The problem with the manner the NDC Press Release was couched is that from my personal experience whosoever has been nominated by John Mahama as his running mate must have been invited and offered the nomination and he or she must have accepted the nomination already.

In my case, on 3 September 2000, Vice-President Mills who had to present his running mate to the NDC the same afternoon told me that if his nomination of me was not acceptable to the Council of Elders and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the  NDC he would not run himself as its Presidential Candidate.  This was before Prof. Mills had to visit Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, the current Chairman of the NDC Council of Elders, to persuade me to accept the nomination,” Mr Amidu explained.

He added that the selection of running mates in the manner done by the NDC and NPP always brings about conflict and disagreements in the party.

Mr Amidu wants all Ghanaians to rise against practices of political parties that hamper our democratisation process.