According to the former trade minister, former President Rawlings’ claim may be included in the fact-findings of Kwesi Botchwey’s committee report,and stated it would have been appropriate for the party hierarchy to wait for the final report of the committee before concluding on the cause of defeat.

The founder of the NDC, former president Rawlings, said the party lost the 2016 elections because it betrayed the values of June 4.

He stated that if the blame game cannot be resolved conclusively, then the party’s leaders have to step aside and allow for fresh leaders with solid integrity to provide the needed leadership.

“If we cannot get our claws off and allow for fresh leadership to emerge then we shall sink further,” he stated.
In an interview, Mr. Spio-Garbrah said former president Rawlings was entitled to his claims on the cause of NDC’s defeat in the 2016 elections but stressed that Kwesi Botchwey’s report may extend further to other causes of the party’s defeat in last year’s election.

“Matters of this nature in our party, Kwesi Botchwey’s Committee have been established to find answers and the cause of our defeat. It is possible the committee’s report may support the claims of Rawlings that corruption and greed caused our defeat but as the report is not available, I will wait for the report,” he asserted.

He stressed that “it may be that the money meant for certain places for the campaign did not reach them and our communication team was poor or organisation of polling stations management was also poor”.

He maintained that it is not one reason which may have caused the defeat of the NDC as former President Rawlings has narrowed it to only greed and corruption.

“There may be so many causes of our defeat in the election, as some of the parliamentary candidates may also be contributory factors with their attitudes towards electorates. All I will say is that we have to wait for the report,” he urged that the founder of his party, former president Rawlings has his own right to express his view on the cause of the party’s defeat in the 2016 general elections.