Political movement reserves sponsorship places for women and the youth

Accra, Oct. 10, GNA - The new political movement, the Platform for Independent National Alternative (PINA), which seeks to sponsor independent candidates for 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections said on Wednesday that a number of sponsorship places had been reserved for women and the young.

Mr Sampson Yeboah, a Spokesperson of PINA, said in a statement issued in Accra that all the women and the young applicants must be within the age bracket of 21 years and 45 years old.

"They must, of course, meet all the other requirements to be elected as a Member of Parliament and President of Ghana and they must also meet PINA's own internal requirements."

According to Mr Yeboah, the decision to invite women and the young to apply had become necessary because Ghanaians above the age of 45 years and mainly men had dominated the heavy demand for sponsorship that had been received by PINA.

In the light of this development PINA has also decided to extend the closing date of the application for sponsorship from October 15 to November 15 2007 for all applicants.

Mr Yeboah said during the just-ended meeting of PINA committee it was decided that open invitation for application of sponsorship should be extended to all past Independent Candidates, who intended to stand again for public office in the upcoming 2008 national elections. He said they were taking the opportunity to invite them to do so within the extended deadline.

Mr Yeboah said acknowledgement of applications had been dispatched with details of other aspects of the programme to all applicants to date adding that those who had yet to receive their response were to contact them.

PINA, whose formation was announced last month, said it was an alternative to all registered political parties and would have "clearly distinctive local and national policy choice for voters". Its motto is "The National Mission First."

"PINA is a local initiative seeking to rescue the nation from corrupt, divisive, exclusive and chronically under-performing national politics of ethnic affiliation, religious identity and misplaced personal attributes, that now plague and threaten the future of multi-party democracy in Ghana," Mr Yeboah said.

He said: "To help steer Ghana away from this looming danger" PINA was committed to a programme of adopting and sponsoring any qualified Ghanaian, who intended to stand as independent candidates at both parliamentary and presidential levels on a common nationwide platform. "The platform is intended and will provide policy choice for voters in alternative to what any of the registered political parties can and will offer."

PINA has asked voters to set up "PINA Victory Voluntary Clubs" to support all adopted and sponsored independent candidates in all the polling station areas.

He said any five or more such eligible voters within a polling station area who formed the Club might apply to be registered as such. According to the requirements for candidates, all applicants must satisfy the legal requirements to stand for and hold public office in Ghana.

The prospective parliamentary candidate may be a serving or former member or chief executive of a local assembly and/or may demonstrate acceptable managerial and executive career record in national and international companies or organisations.

The prospective presidential candidate may possess all the qualifications of a prospective parliamentary candidate, a serving or former member of parliament, or a serving or former member of government.

Applicants must state the grounds for their claim to be independent of all the political parties in not more than 150 typed words; provide in not more than 200 words a six-point action plan to transform their constituency; transform Ghana as an independent president within four years in a manner that any of the existing political parties was incapable of achieving in government. 10 Oct. 07