Rawlings prophesies NDC's victory and says:December 7 is Ghana`s day of liberation…As he pulls massive crowd in Kumasi

The former President and founder of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings has predicted that the pain, agony and the untold hardships being experienced by Ghanaians as a result of the wicked administration of the NPP would be over after the December elections.

According to him, the nation would be disentangled from the eight years of insensitivity and corrupt rule of the NPP and would once again return to its past glories when the NDC assumes the mantle of leadership in 2009.

Addressing a large crowd of party supporters at Bantama in Kumasi to round up his campaign tour to the Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo Regions, Mr. Rawlings said the ruling party had for the past eight years subjected Ghanaians to unbearable suffering and destitution and that the time had arrived for the people of this country to rediscover their destiny by voting the NPP out of power.

He said now that Ghanaians had seen the difference between the performances of the NPP and the NDC, the choice was theirs to either restore their pride as Ghanaians by voting the NDC back to power or continue to wallow in perpetual quandary and torture.

He observed that when the NDC was in power, people relatively enjoyed better life because the party implemented people-centered and non-discriminatory policies, which saw an equitable distribution of the nation's wealth and resources.

“I have seen Ghana from the above and I can tell you that during the reign of the NDC, majority of the people had access to good drinking water, abundant food, money was in peoples' pocket, Villagers enjoyed far better lives and more people could sponsor their children in school”

Mr.Rawlings said he had all the opportunity in this world like President Kufour to have siphoned money from the coffers of the state, but due to his love for this country, he left the highest office of the country a humble and poor man.

The former President, who appeared emotionally charged as he responded to cheers and applause from the teeming supporters who had gathered at the rally grounds to listen to him, fired more salvos at the ruling government and the NPP's flag bearer, accusing them of reducing innocent Ghanaians to second class citizens with poor and discriminative policies, while enriching their cronies with state funds and illicit drug businesses.

According to him, President Kufuor and his government have brought the worst out of Ghanaians with many people now practically getting used to their predicaments and have as such lost absolute faith and trust in political leadership in the country.

He however indicated that as a result of divine intervention, Ghanaians have another opportunity to salvage the nation from the atrocities of the NPP government through the ballot box. “Let us thank the Almighty God that Kufuor and his people may not be third time lucky because Ghanaians now have the chance to vote them out come December, and liberate themselves from the intense hardships being experienced under the NPP,” he noted.

Mr.Rawlings, however, pointed out that the much needed change Ghanaians were yearning for may not come unless supporters of the party stand up and fight against attempts by the NPP to manipulate the elections and overturn the mandate of the majority of Ghanaians.

He noted that it would be a fallacy and empty wishes for the supporters of the party to think that there has been change in America and so there would be a replication of change in Ghana, adding that “Americans achieved the feat because they considered the destiny and the future of America as more supreme to that of one's ethnic, religion or tribal background.”

“If we continue to sit down and think because there has been a change in the United States and that similar thing would happen in Ghana, we would eventually laugh at the wrong side of our mouth because in US you cannot rig elections with ease.” He posited.

According to Mr.Rawlings, President Kufour and members of the ruling party, obviously being haunted by their poor performances in the past eight years, were conniving with the officials of the Electoral Commission to rig the elections.

The former President, therefore, urged members of the opposition NDC to personally act as ambassadors and bodyguards on the voting day in order to foil the ruling party's vicious plan to rig and to safeguard the integrity of the polls.

“God has given you head to think, ears to hear and eyes to see, so on December 7 it is your duty to police the polls, you need to be vigilant, bold and stand united and fight against all forms of threat and intimidations from the powers that be,” he noted.

Other party gurus who accompanied the ex-President included the Second Deputy National Chairman of the party, Mr.Kwame Bonsu, the MP for Asunafo South, Hon. Collins Dauda, and the former Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, Mrs. Joanna Appiah Dwomoh.