8 fight for president

Daily Guide can report that a journalist who was covering the filing of nominations of presidential candidates at the offices of the Electoral Commission last Friday was so thrilled by the antics of Uncle Dan Lartey that he laughed his heart out and gave a huge sound of passing wind.

He farted to the discomfiture of the EC commissioners and all others present.

Dan Lartey, the self-acclaimed leader of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) showed such great determination to file to contest the December 7, 2008 presidential election that he jumped several unimaginable hurdles with in an 8-hour period.

First, he could squeeze out only half the money expected by the EC, made a public appeal for funds, and then when he found all the money, his general secretary was held up in traffic with the filing forms.

Finally when the forms arrived they were not complete.

"Uncle Dan, I am sorry we cannot take your forms", Dr. Afari-Gyan announced to the utter amazement of the 82-year-old presidential hopeful.

Without saying any word, and as if in shock, Dan Lartey walked down the staircase and sped away in a taxi cab.

It would be recalled that Mr. Lartey of Domestication fame, similarly blamed a traffic jam on the poor turnout of people at his party's congress in Kumasi earlier this year.

Even though he presented the payment for his nomination, the EC officials turned it down asking that it would only be collected with the completed forms.

When the executives arrived finally with the forms, there was another snag - there was no bust-size picture of himself, tax clearance certificate for his running mate as well as a statutory declaration.

Dan Lartey could there fore not go through the EC procedures.

Retired Warrant Officer Richard Nixon Tetteh, who had beamed with confidence, soon put up a melancholic countenance because the EC Chairman announced to him that he had failed to meet the requirements of the Commission.

Prophet Daniel Nkansah of the New Vision Party also failed the EC test because all the signatures on the nomination forms turned out to be the same.

He was unable to rectify the anomaly before the 5 pm deadline even as he hurriedly entered one of the cubicles at the gate in an attempt to do so.

Meanwhile tomorrow marks a critical point in the campaign strategies of the political parties who successfully filed their forms last Friday, as they vie for positions on the ballot papers for the December 7 polls.

The Tuesday balloting date was announced by the EC Chairman, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan at the end of the filing of nomination by the eight presidential candidates in Accra.

The candidates are Nana Akufo-Addo, New Patriotic Party (NPP); John Evans Atta Mills, National Democratic Congress (NDC); Paa Kwesi Nduom, Convention People's Party (CPP) and Edward Nasigre Mahama, People's National Convention (PNC).

Others are Thomas Nuako Ward-Brew, Democratic People's Party (DPP); Emmanuel Ansah-Antwi, Democratic Freedom Party (DFP); Kwabena Adjei, Reformed Patriotic Democrats (RPD) and the Independent presidential candidate, Kwesi Amoafo Yeboah.

Earlier, the EC withheld Dr. Edward Mahama's nomination form because he signed for both himself and his running mate, Petra Maria Amegashie, an anomalous development.

The EC demanded that the PNC rectified the anomaly by getting the running mate to sign her own form before 5pm that day.

With a new form given her by the EC, the PNC running mate was asked to complete same before the certification could be released to them.

Source: Daily Guide