I have no disrespect for the other parties contesting the elections but I’m inclined [based on history and realities on the ground] to think the ’08 election is going to be between the two main political parties – the National Democratic Congress [the NDC] and the New Patriotic Party [the NPP].

This election is one of the most historic and crucial for any dream Ghana as a nation has to entrench democracy and the rule of law. It is a landmark event in various senses, that:

- for the first time in the history of the country, a civilian administration [besides Rawlings military cum civilian regimes] is completing a two-term presidency and poised to handover to an elected government

- NPP is determined to handover to the NPP

- It is NDC’s Prof. John Atta-Mills’ third attempt to occupy the first Office in Ghana

- to President J. A. Kufuor, it is a referendum on his acclaimed achievements

- it is a battle between incumbency and the legacies of the 19-year regimes of the pNDC and/or Rawlings’ legacy

- it is between NPP’s “Moving Ghana Forward – Building a Modern Ghana,” versus NDC’s ‘‘A Better Ghana 2008 – we care for you”

The landmark nature of the year’s election make the contest a critical affair for all contesting parties esp. the two major, the NPP and the NDC. The selection of presidential candidates came to pass with many successes for the two parties than much anticipated. The North-South divide was taken into consideration and this produced two young and energetic candidates to partner Hon. Nana Akufo-Addo and Prof Atta-Mills. The difference though is that Prof Mills’ John Dramani Mahama, a communication expert, is considered to be one of the finest politicians in the country’s Parliament. He has served as the NDC’s MP for Bole-Bamboi Constituency since 1997. Nana Akufo-Addo’s Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, an economist and a banker, was until his appointment unkown in political circles. However, Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP explained his appointment by arguing that he was one of the brains behind the successful redenomination of the cedi and the micro economic successes chalked by their government.

There is no doubt that the campaigns have been more about promises. Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP’s message have been quite simple and expectant: to build on the foundation Kufuor’s two-term presidency has successfully built. The engines for these successes are the policies like the National Health Insurance Scheme, National Youth Employment Programme, Capitation Grant, the School Feeding Programme, aggressive infrastructural development, good governance and the rule of law. Nana Akufo-Addo presidency intends to extend and add to these achievements by making senior high school education gratis in the country. He also intends to build universities in all the regions without one and a factory in each district.

Prof Atta-Mills and the NDC, on the other hand, do not see the Kufuor achievements that Nana Akufo-Addo wants to build upon. Prof Mills’ presidency will be determined to put the national economy on track and redistribute the national cake equitably. The NDC government will improve the lives of the ordinary people whose plight have [[been worse off]] under the NPP’s elitist and property owning democracy. NDC’s tactics have been to play on where the NPP is perceived to have been weak and vulnerable. President Kufuor’s presidency has come under intense criticism for corruption, political opulence, and lavish campaign spending. Armed robbery has become a big national concern and, expectantly, it is stated in the newly outdoored NDC manifesto that, ‘the Prof Mills' 100-Days measures will be focused on protecting the safety and security of Ghanaians by streamlining, harmonizing and resourcing the agencies of state with responsibility for ensuring the security of life and the safety of property’.

The Central Region is considered to be a swing region and it is an intense electoral battleground this year. Prof. Mills, who hails from the region, is reported to have campaigned not less than four times within a space of three months in the region. He is determined to win the support of the electorates who have voted twice against him in previous presidential elections. Candidate Akufo-Addo and President Kufuor have also visited the area a number of times drawing the attention of the inhabitants to how much they have benefited from the two-term mandate of the NPP and how much should be expected.

Former President John Rawlings, founder of the NDC, has been a key but controversial player in the campaign for Prof. Mills’ bid. His public utterances have been perceived to be outrageous and drawbacks for the NDC campaign. His criticisms of the Kufuor government are considered to have gone beyond what is acceptable. His style of touching on sensitive national issues without caution, meeting with the former security capos and other [[boom]] behaviours are considered to be causing more harming than good to his party. It is worrying to the NDC campaign. It was therefore not a surprise when it was announced that a top meeting by the NDC bigwigs has taken place to gag him. It was also not a surprise when Hon. John Mahama, the party’s presidential running mate, made it clear that Rawlings’ position is not part of their mainstream campaign message. It was again not a surprise that he was not on the official list of speakers during the recent outdooring of the party’s manifesto. No matter how much anyone tries, for President Rawlings, it’s crucial for him to get his head far ahead of everyone to prove that no one is bigger than him, both within the NDC and beyond.

The election is about Nana Akufo-Addo’s mixture of good music and we are moving forward kangaroo dance versus Prof. Mills’ we care for you door-to-door campaigns. The latter seems to be happening outside the public google and the former is more intense and public. The NPP campaign is as such noted for mammoth rallies that dwarf Prof. Mills’ campaign effort [which is reported to be happening in the quiet – door-to-door]. All contesting parties have made their manifestoes public, promising hope and prosperity. It remains to be seen, come 7th December, who gets the trust and the mandate of the Ghanaian electorates.

Peter Ohemeng

[The WatchDog Desk]