The NDC flagbearer and the NPP flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, were invited to a pre-election discussion, but Joyce Bawah Mogtari, the spokesman for the John Mahama Campaign Team, turned down the invitation.
Political analysts and other interested parties begged Bawah Mogtari to reconsider, but the two front-runners declined.
Bawah Mogtari commended Mahama’s extraordinary enthusiasm and breadth of knowledge in an interview on Channel One TV’s The Point of View, but she unexpectedly declined an invitation to a debate.
She expressed complete confidence in John Mahama’s capacity to outperform any presidential contender in a debate, claiming that the performance of the government as it stands now makes a debate superfluous.
She suggested that since the NDC presidential candidate is already so knowledgeable and well-prepared, having a debate would just serve to accentuate his advantages, hence it would be pointless to do so at this time.
“I personally have no appetite for a debate, I think that we debate when we literally know that our issues are probably parallel…When I look at what we have, when I look at the current trajectory, when I look at the failings of this particular administration, I ask myself why do we need to put up with a debate? But of course, this is a decision that the upper people usually will make.
“It’s not my decision to make, as the debates and conversations go along, maybe eventually some conversations will happen around it, and of course, who knows?
“We do know all about the debates between John Mahama and then candidate Akufo-Addo and we know who won those debates. So, I believe that the fact that Mr Mahama is a man whose energy and knowledge is unparallel is not in doubt. And I’m sure on any day, whomever, I know he’s going to win the debate. But I don’t think that immediately I will want to see that you put them through strict proof first,” she told host Bernard Avle.
