Political parties urged to elect flag bearers in peace

Accra, Jul 17, GNA - Political parties yet to elect their flag bearers to contest the 2012 elections, have been urged to emulate the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and to do so in peace.

This was stated by the Chairman of the Intimate Club, an affiliate of the NDC, Mr Theophilus Magoah, at a meeting of the group at Korle Workon in Accra at the weekend.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra, he said the fact that the two leading parties in the country have selected their flag bearers without any acrimony confirmed that internal democracy was developing in Ghana.

He, however, expressed the hope that in future such contests would take place without large security presence and called for discipline among political activists and supporters, adding that this should start from the executives of the parties.

The Chairman of the Intimate Club commended all those, who contributed to the success of the NDC’s Congress at Sunyani, and called on the various groups that emerged in support of the two candidates to be dissolved and their structures made to join the NDC campaign group to ensure that the party retained power in the 2012 elections to continue the “Better Ghana Agenda”.

He said the large margin of votes obtained by President John Evans Atta Mills at the Congress was an indication of the approval of his performance and explained that it was to allow him to complete the various development projects he had initiated throughout the country.

Mr Magoah pointed out that it was not because the delegates did not like Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, the former First Lady and wife of Former President Rawlings, founder of the NDC.

He noted that at the previous congress in Tamale Nana Konadu obtained a lot of votes to become the First Vice Chairperson and said that showed the love that the party had for her and her husband.

The Intimate Club Chairman said even churches held elections but buried their difference and called on members of the NDC to do the same thing to ensure that it retained power in the next elections.

He called on callers to radio phone-in programmes popularly called serial-callers to be mindful of their comments and said they should desist from inflaming passions, which would not be in the interest of the nation.

Mr Magoah noted that the first term of the tenure of elected governments were always difficult since they would have to honour their campaign promises and said the NDC was creating an enabling atmosphere for investors to create jobs for the people, adding that “everything would be alright after the 2012 elections if President Mills was retained.

He commended the Government for bringing down inflation and called on all members of the NDC to try and win more supporters, especially the floating voters for the party to win the next elections.