Boakye Djan Rubbishes Nana Addo & Mills'Experience

If I wanted to be president, I would have won hands down

Osahene Boakye Djan, former Head of Government and Spokesman for the erstwhile Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), yesterday made mockery of the experience of the presidential candidates of NDC and NPP, Professor John Atta Mills and Nana Akufo Addo respectively. He also alleged what he called the violent intentions of both major parties ahead of the December elections.

“The stakes for the outcome of the national elections are high that on both sides there is the anticipation, preparation, talks and advocacy of using politically motivated violence as normal response to the rigging of elections that have not even taken place,” he said.

He was addressing a press conference to announce his parliamentary ambition and formally accept the invitation to be the National Coordinator for the Independent National Alternative sponsored Campaign for Independent Parliament (CIP) of Ghana.

He said: “None of the presidential candidates have the kind of experience that I have, and if I wanted to be president, I would have declared and would have won hands down.” Osahene Djan, who is much remembered for the June 4, 1979 coup, said though the country is seen as a multi-party state, “in reality we are in NDC and NPP duopoly of alternating one-party state, like a revolving door.” “It is this system that is not working. It may work to the benefit of the few but certainly not to the benefit of the majority of us” he said in reference to multi-party constitutionalism. He attributed all that is wrong with our society to the current system of governance in the country.

“The executive President appoints and sacks members of his cabinet, the President initiates the main bills to be passed by Parliament which is then guaranteed easy passage to him to be implemented and without proper scrutiny because his party dominates Parliament,” he explained. This is the system, he said, that allows one party rule with the executive that controls all the levers of power in this country. The retired Army Officer said his private research and consultation at home and abroad indicate that independent domination and control of Parliament would help us break the system of one party rule with maximum impact.

The good news, he said, is that the PINA is the only available way on the political menu that we can use to turn the system around from its impotence and paralysis to productivity and progress for all of us. “The other good news is that the overall share of the popular votes of independent candidates in the 2004 elections is bigger than what CPP or PNC candidates polled…It is third after NDC and NPP popular parliamentary votes”, he said. Boakye Djan said PINA is the effective independent representation in Ghana that will no longer allow the two parties to continue to indulge in their self-destructive confrontation. Independent representation, he said, is not an entirely new project in the country. “The current constitution reserves local elections to the independents only…What we are left with is the issue and nature of independent representation at the parliamentary and presidential levels of elections in Ghana,” he said.

Osahene Boakye Djan who retired from active politics about a year ago also announced his intention to contest the Jaman South constituency seat.

“PINA and I will be launching soon a Campaign for Independent Parliament (CIP) which I shall be leading as its National Coordinator…Within that campaign I have decided to jump into the trench and lead from the front with my other independent candidates nationwide to win the mandate to serve our nation, our communities and you the voter with a system we must all benefit from”, he said.