Voters Opt For Northern Prez Candidates

Majority of Ghanaian voters would be willing to place their votes on a party with a Northerner as a presidential candidate, according to a survey conducted by the ADM. ADM survey of more than two thousand voters, including the old and young, reveals that Ghanaian voters do not simply respond to the old pattern of voting for voting sake, they are increasingly willing to take northern considerations into account when voting.
Nearly half of those questioned said they would be more likely to vote for a party with a northern presidential candidate, which suggested that there is an opportunity for the party fielding a northerner to gain a competitive edge in the presidential elections.

More than half said they would vote handsomely for a party with a Northern leader to guarantee equilibrium in the democratic political maturity. “These findings indicate that, in the wake of rising popularity of northern presidential candidates, there is a significant public support for a move towards northern candidates for the presidency”, says Danny Ofori-Atta, the Chairman of EGLE party.

He added “in the changing and developing world of politics where political consciousness is rapidly growing, the selection of a northern candidate for the presidency, by any party, can help to make a difference in the fortunes of such a party”.

The extra five percent who say they are prepared to vote for a northern candidate may be small, but in fact would be the equivalent of adding an extra thousand of votes to a party fielding a northerner as a presidential candidate.

Contrary to the belief that the NPP is an Akan party, Alhaji B.A Yakubu, one time Northern Regional Minister and Ghana's Ambassador to Libya said as far as the NPP is concerned neither the Akuffo-Addo's nor the J.B Danquah's won a parliamentary seat for the party.

“It's the Northern Peoples Party (NPP) that won Parliamentary seat and heroically fought for the U.P in Parliament”, he said. He mentioned the Tolon –Na , Alhaji Yakubu Tali, Jato Kaleo, J.A Braimah, B.K Adama, Abayifa Karbo, Imoru Salifu and Adam Amandi, as those who espoused the mission and vision of the U.P.

Alhaji B.A Yakubu therefore called on some of the presidential aspirants to be guided by the forceful impact of history in their pronouncements and advised the NPP to develop the necessary strategy and look for constructive solutions to the presidential issues, so as to avoid singing the what went wrong song.

Kwesi Arhin of the NDC also believed that “if we are serious about the development of Ghana, then it's time, after Hilla Liman, to give the northern elements a chance to the presidency”.

He charged his party to take into consideration the adverse consequences of economic under-development, wide scope of poverty, social deprivation, prolonged political manipulation in formenting conflict situations, as well as the geographical proximity of Ghana to countries bogged down with ethnic and religious conflict, and do away with what a section of the citizenry perceive as unequal access to power.