Losing 2008 Elections Was A Mystery – JA Kufuor
John Agyekum Kufuor has said upon all his hard work between 2000 and 2008, he never thought that his party would have lost the 2008 general elections until the last stages when the election was held in Tain to decide who wins the elections.
According to him, things happened in ways that he could not comprehend especially when Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, the then Finance Minister died, it hit him hard.
“The first round our candidate led with about 49% […]. Then there was a second-round which again we believe if democracy was common sense, we should have taken but it didn’t happen. Then, there was a third-round when we sent people ahead to talk to the chiefs and people of the area [Tain], so how our own party people said they were taking the Electoral Commission to court to restrain it from having the elections but the court didn’t rule for us but meanwhile the outstanding elections was taking place; we had boycotted it and so that’s how power slipped from our hands. It wasn’t a rejection from the people as such, but so many things came together in a very strange way to deprive us of power,” President Kufuor said on Sunday Night show on Asaase Radio.
He indicated that 17 aspirants contesting the party’s presidential primary was not a mistake at all because as a democratic party, they open up for divergent views within the party. If this logic holds, then will it not be wise for the NPP trolls to stop sharing disparaging comments John Mahama’s co-contestants said against him and instead focus on explaining the NPP manifesto?
Kufuor also explained that the party lost the parliamentary elections because some candidates that lost the parliamentary primary decided to run on an independent basis.
Some 17 presidential aspirants contested the Presidential primaries of the NPP in 2007 to lead the party into December 7, 2008, elections at the time that Kufuor was exiting as President of Ghana after his eight-year rule.
The aspirants, who had toured the whole country canvassing for votes from the delegates of the party were; Yaw Osafo-Maafo; Kwabena Agyepong; Professor Mike Oquaye; Hackman Owusu-Agyeman; Dr Barfuor Adjei-Barwuah; Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey and Mr Daniel Kweku Botwe. Mr Alan John Kyerematen; Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku; Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; Papa Owusu Ankomah; Boakye Kyeremanteng Agyarko; Dr Kobina Arthur Kennedy; Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng; Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama; Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor and Felix Kwesi Owusu-Adjapong.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo won with 1,096 votes (47.9%), Alan Kyerematen had 738 votes (32.5%), Aliu Mahama had 146 votes (6.3%), Yaw Osafo Maafo 63 votes (2.8%), Dan Botwe had 52 votes (2.3%), Papa Owusu Ankomah 34 votes (1.5%), Hackman Owusu-Agyeman had 28 votes (1.2%), Addo Kufuor had 22 votes (1%), Mike Oquaye had 20 votes (1%), Obetsebi Lamptey had 20 votes (1%), Konadu Apraku had 19 votes (0.8%), Frimpong Boateng had 12 votes (0.5%), Boakye Kyeremanteng Agyarko had 10 votes (0.4%), Kwabena Agyapong had 9 votes (0.4%), Felix Owusu Agyapong had 9 votes (0.4%), Adjei Barwuah had 6 votes (0.2%) and Arthur Kennedy had 1 vote (0%).
Nana Akufo-Addo led the party into the 2008 elections and lost to Prof John Evans Atta-Mills after three rounds.