Former Finance Minister, Prof Kwasi Botchwey, has stated that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) lost the 2016 elections because the party lacked decency, honesty and integrity.

According to him, the issues about ethical politics are as important in internal party politics as they are in the national discourse.

He admitted that there was a general absence of ethical politics within the NDC, saying that was the main reason the party was voted out of power.

The NDC, led by then President John Mahama, suffered a humiliating defeat to Nana Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the 2016 polls.

Whiles the former managed just 44.4% of the total votes cast, the later garnered a whopping 53.85% to win power.

Prof Botchwey, who was the leader of a committee set up to investigate the cause of the NDC’s humiliating defeat, has publicly opened up for the first time on the subject.

Speaking at the 6th Atta Mills commemorative lecture on the theme “Ethicality democracy and national development; the legacy of President Atta Mills”, he said the absence of honesty and decency cost the party during the 2016 elections.

He further eulogized late former president John Evans Atta Mills, who was his classmate and friend.

He said the late president John Mills was a symbol of ethicality- honesty, humility and decency- who pledged to be guided always by making the right decision and not a hasty one.

According to him, such values are required to be upheld if Ghana is to develop through democracy.

“There is a relationship between democracy and economic development,” he stated, adding, many policies of national development, policy formulation and taxation need cross-partisan support even when there is the dominant party in parliament.

“We need to step back from the brink and begin to ethicalize by curbing the case of vengeance and recrimination,” Prof Botchwey added, in reference to the increasing polarization of the country’s politics.