Dan Lartey On Grand Coalition

Mr. Dan Lartey, Chairman of the Grand Coalition of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), the People's National Convention (PNC) and the EGLE party, has said the coalition is comparatively better than that proposed with the Convention People's Party's because it is most appropriate means of liberating the country from its present state.
"That is the reason why I decided to be part of it," Mr. Lartey, leader of the GCPP, told The Chronicle in Accra on Wednesday.
He said the other political parties in the coalition share the same policies and are ready to work effectively.
The timing, he said, is right since Ghanaians want a third force of progressive parties to contest the New Patriotic Party fiercely in the 2004 elections.
By the grand coalition about 90 to 95% of the "prodigal sons" have decided to return to their respective parties forming the coalition, he said.
He believes the coalition will not pose a threat to the parties. "If there were to be a threat, the parties will not agree with the memorandum of understanding," adding that it would seek to ensure fair play and justice as the cornerstone.
Any political party can join the coalition including the New Patriotic Party, he contended.
Mr. Lartey said the coalition would achieve a greater result with his domestication concept vis-?-vis the economy and governance.
The secretary general of the PNC, Mr. Gabriel Pwamang said the coalition would make it easier to achieve the parties' political ambition of winning the 2004 general election.
He explained that all the political parties would go for congress to elect their presidential candidates after which the appointment committee of the coalition will elect one common candidate whose party's name would be adopted for the elections.
Mr. Pwamang said that prior to the coalition PNC held meetings with all the opposition parties, except the NDC, to discuss the modalities, which resulted in the three parties agreeing to join forces.
The partners have signed a memorandum that sets out the structure of its committees, regulations and work programmes under which they agreed to avoid placing the parties in opposition to each other that would undermine success and create a conflict of interest between them and the grand coalition.
The parties will also be bound by the decisions of the Grand Coalition Council, which will "exert maximum effort and use maximum resources at the disposal of each party for the grand coalition to win the 2004 general election and for the achievement of all intermediate objectives of the coalition".