IS RUN-OFF LIKELY?
By Bismark Bebli for Chronicle
Politics | Tue, 23 Nov 2004
Politics | Tue, 23 Nov 2004
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NPP says one touch, NDC says first round Chronicle -- THE TWO major political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are predicting a first round victory in the December 7 elections.
As the NPP predicts what it termed, “one touch”, the NDC is also predicting 60% and above in the forthcoming elections.
Dr. Josiah Nii Armah Aryeh, the general secretary of the NDC told The Chronicle that if the previous elections were repeated, then “our own survey suggests that Prof. Mills may well be able to win anything up to 60% and beyond in the NDC strongholds.”
This, he said, depended on whether they could manage to close up in the strongholds of the government and also how the uncommitted voters behaved.
Dr. Aryeh stated that from all the empirical evidence available to the NDC of the past presidential elections that had been closely fought between the major contenders, said he would not be surprised if the Prof. Mills-led NDC pulled a first round victory.
According to him, in 1996, the former President J.J. Rawlings factor appeared to have held sway.
When asked as to what it took for a party to win a first round, the NDC chief scribe had this to say: “You have to prevent the floating votes from going to the minority parties and better still, you probably have to reach understanding with those parties.
Such understandings are difficult because it means minority parties would have to literally pull out in the electoral competition erasing the raison d'etre for their existence.”
Should that fail, Dr. Aryeh indicated that it meant the votes of the minority parties would go to the dominant party.
The national organizer of the ruling NPP, Mr. Lord Commey, stated that there was no doubt that the NPP would win the election by only one touch, adding that the party's first round win was due to the fulfilled promises of the government and drastic strategies of the party, unlike their predecessors.
According to him, the NPP was a well-structured party that had combed all the constituencies across the country with equitable distribution of development and added that the party was absolutely confident of winning the elections hands down.
Mr. Commey who said the NPP was a grass root party, said the party started putting its structures together immediately after the 2000 elections. “Since 2000, we managed to draw the distinction between the government and the party and it is working very well for the party as a well organized political party.”
Predicting percentage win, the national organizer said, “Personally, I will not be surprised if we win 80% of the votes. But for the reality, the party is winning between 60 to 70% but I would not be surprised for 80% because we are satisfied with what we have done,” he emphasized.
When he querried on what it took a political party to win first round or better still as he puts it, 'One touch”, Mr. Commey said, it all depended on the organizational structure of the party, coupled with its manifesto.
“Because we are the incumbent government, it takes trust for the people to vote for us vis-a-vis our commitment to the contents of the manifesto. The discerning people would compare it with the previous governments and vote. But surely, people are not prepared to go back to the NDC. This is because we have ensured that our democracy grows and “we have freedom of speech,” he submitted.
When the paper contacted the associate executive director of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, Dr. Baffour Agyeman Duah, he was hesitant to give his opinion on the upcoming elections. According to him, it was too early for him to speak on the matter now since he had not studied all the indicators.
Political analyst, Mr. Ben Ephson, who doubles as the Editor of the Daily Dispatch was of the view that the electorate would decide with their thumbs on the voting day, adding that he would be publishing his findings too.
Mr. John Boadu, the national treasurer of the NPP complemented the views of Mr. Lord Commey on having a landslide victory, adding that the masses had now seen a new president who did not insult and carried himself above reproach.
“Ghanaians have seen a president who does not insult, a president who managed to sustain the growth from 3.7 % to 5.2%, a president who has drastically brought down the inflation of 40.5% to 12.4% and also increased the income of cocoa farmers from ¢3.3m to ¢9million.”
According to him, the NPP's first round win was not only warranted by President Kufuor's vision of providing jobs to the people in the rural areas through the PSI but also how most of the NDC sympathizers decamped to the NPP. Continued
Source: Bismark Bebli for Chronicle
As the NPP predicts what it termed, “one touch”, the NDC is also predicting 60% and above in the forthcoming elections.
Dr. Josiah Nii Armah Aryeh, the general secretary of the NDC told The Chronicle that if the previous elections were repeated, then “our own survey suggests that Prof. Mills may well be able to win anything up to 60% and beyond in the NDC strongholds.”
This, he said, depended on whether they could manage to close up in the strongholds of the government and also how the uncommitted voters behaved.
Dr. Aryeh stated that from all the empirical evidence available to the NDC of the past presidential elections that had been closely fought between the major contenders, said he would not be surprised if the Prof. Mills-led NDC pulled a first round victory.
According to him, in 1996, the former President J.J. Rawlings factor appeared to have held sway.
When asked as to what it took for a party to win a first round, the NDC chief scribe had this to say: “You have to prevent the floating votes from going to the minority parties and better still, you probably have to reach understanding with those parties.
Such understandings are difficult because it means minority parties would have to literally pull out in the electoral competition erasing the raison d'etre for their existence.”
Should that fail, Dr. Aryeh indicated that it meant the votes of the minority parties would go to the dominant party.
The national organizer of the ruling NPP, Mr. Lord Commey, stated that there was no doubt that the NPP would win the election by only one touch, adding that the party's first round win was due to the fulfilled promises of the government and drastic strategies of the party, unlike their predecessors.
According to him, the NPP was a well-structured party that had combed all the constituencies across the country with equitable distribution of development and added that the party was absolutely confident of winning the elections hands down.
Mr. Commey who said the NPP was a grass root party, said the party started putting its structures together immediately after the 2000 elections. “Since 2000, we managed to draw the distinction between the government and the party and it is working very well for the party as a well organized political party.”
Predicting percentage win, the national organizer said, “Personally, I will not be surprised if we win 80% of the votes. But for the reality, the party is winning between 60 to 70% but I would not be surprised for 80% because we are satisfied with what we have done,” he emphasized.
When he querried on what it took a political party to win first round or better still as he puts it, 'One touch”, Mr. Commey said, it all depended on the organizational structure of the party, coupled with its manifesto.
“Because we are the incumbent government, it takes trust for the people to vote for us vis-a-vis our commitment to the contents of the manifesto. The discerning people would compare it with the previous governments and vote. But surely, people are not prepared to go back to the NDC. This is because we have ensured that our democracy grows and “we have freedom of speech,” he submitted.
When the paper contacted the associate executive director of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, Dr. Baffour Agyeman Duah, he was hesitant to give his opinion on the upcoming elections. According to him, it was too early for him to speak on the matter now since he had not studied all the indicators.
Political analyst, Mr. Ben Ephson, who doubles as the Editor of the Daily Dispatch was of the view that the electorate would decide with their thumbs on the voting day, adding that he would be publishing his findings too.
Mr. John Boadu, the national treasurer of the NPP complemented the views of Mr. Lord Commey on having a landslide victory, adding that the masses had now seen a new president who did not insult and carried himself above reproach.
“Ghanaians have seen a president who does not insult, a president who managed to sustain the growth from 3.7 % to 5.2%, a president who has drastically brought down the inflation of 40.5% to 12.4% and also increased the income of cocoa farmers from ¢3.3m to ¢9million.”
According to him, the NPP's first round win was not only warranted by President Kufuor's vision of providing jobs to the people in the rural areas through the PSI but also how most of the NDC sympathizers decamped to the NPP. Continued
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