Insults, lies don't win elections - NPP tells NDC

Ghanaians want a campaign that will address the important issues in their lives rather than insults and lies about opponents.

Against this background, the governing New Patriotic Party yesterday at a media briefing, reacted to some wild allegations and perceived insults made against it by the main rival National Democratic Congress.

Peter Mac Manu, NPP National Chairman, said when leaders of a national party such as the NDC make it a deliberate policy to spread lies about others without regard for facts, they do the country great harm.

According to him, the allegation by the NDC that the NPP, in collaboration with the Electoral Commission, plans to rig the December general elections was part of the main opposition party's grand design to discredit the EC and the democratic process ahead of the elections.

'The NPP does not need to rig elections to win. While in opposition, despite being outspent, intimidated, and having an Electoral Commission whose membership had been determined by the NDC government, we won,' he noted.

He asked, 'Why would we need to rig elections now, when we have a record to campaign on, a superior vision for the future and the best candidate in this election?'

Another issue addressed was the purported list of bank accounts owned by some prominent NPP members at Prudential Bank.

Reacting, Mr Mac Manu said the list had no basis and was fabricated by the NDC.

He charged Prudential Bank and Bank of Ghana to formally investigate the allegation.

On Jerry John Rawlings, NDC founder, the NPP national chairman said it was unfortunate that the former President had developed the penchant of insulting the people of the Central Region because they failed to vote for the NDC in 2000 and 2004.

Addressing party faithful a few weeks ago, former President Rawlings maintained that the NPP would have lost the Central Region in 2004 if President Kufuor had not gone to 'bribe' the people; and again remarked at a Cape Coast rally during his Presidency that the people of the Central Region acted like dogs, defecating and dropping litter any and every where; he urged them to emulate cats.

According to Mac Manu, in the midst of all these insults by the former President, the NDC presidential candidate, J.E.A. Mills, had never once come to the defence of his home region.

Also on the allegation by Weekly Standard - a pro-NDC newspaper - against President Kufuor to the effect that he had gotten involved in a Kuwaiti oil deal, the NPP national chairman demanded that Victor Smith, former special assistant to Mr Rawlings, and publisher of the paper, render an apology or President Kufuor would seek legal redress because the story was scandalous.

On Nana Akufo-Addo"s recent press conference on the global financial crisis, Mac Manu maintained that the NPP presidential candidate never spoke or acted as the sitting President.

'He was speaking as a presidential candidate, who, God and the people of Ghana willing, will be the next President,' he stressed.

Mac Manu told the NDC, 'If Prof Mills or any other candidate has any ideas on the crisis, let them speak up. If not, let them keep quiet.'