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18.01.2010 Editorial

Is the CPP sleeping?

By The Ghanaian Journal
Is the CPP sleeping?
18.01.2010 LISTEN

IN the run up to the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections the Convention People's Party (CPP) was one political party that proved to Ghanaians that it is still relevant and a force to reckon with so far as Ghana's body politics is concerned. Thus, through the efforts of the party's presidential candidate, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, and the party's national executives, the CPP became attractive once again to many Ghanaian youth.

AND because of the challenge posed by the party during the 2008 election, some elements within the then ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) had to employ all kinds of tactics to undermine the party's efforts at wrestling power. It was also not surprising to see the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which was then in opposition, steal and aggressively campaigned on the Yeresesamu slogan of the CPP.

UNFORTUNATELY through the actions and inactions of some of key members of the CPP, all its toils could not translate into votes. That explained the party's abysmal performance in the 2008 general election. But it appears that the CPP has not learnt to live together as one family who belong to the same tradition, and are aiming at one goal—win political power and improve the lot of Ghanaians.

CURRENTLY what is happening in the camps of the NDC and the NPP is that the leadership of the two parties are preparing feverishly for their upcoming congresses to elect its leaders who will be entrusted with the job of winning the 2012 general election. This is after both parties had finished with their elections at the constituency level. That shows the level of importance the two parties attach to the 2012 polls—work strenuously ahead to achieve victory.

THE question we at TODAY would want to ask is what is the CPP which sees itself as the alternative to the NPP and the NDC and the best for the good people of Ghana doing? A cursory look at the party indicates that nothing seem to be going well for the party. No constituency elections and neither is the party thinking of going to congress early. Do we take it that the CPP will again sleep and wait until the eleventh hour to ask for the mandate of Ghanaians?

OBVIOUSLY a lot of the Ghanaian electorate will not see the CPP as a serious political party which is ready to steer affairs of this nation. We think that the leadership of the CPP must strategise and organise to do things proactively if indeed the party wants to win political power.

BESIDES, the political parties making news in the newspapers, and noise, as some will like to describe these political talk shows in the morning, are as usual the NDC and the NPP. What are members of the CPP doing to ensure that the party's voice is heard on both the airwaves and the newspapers? It is looking more as if the CPP we have today is bereft of ideas, especially when it comes to how to win national elections.

THE CPP has lost sight of the fact that millions of Ghanaians tune in to and patronise these morning political programmes and even contribute by phoning in to express their opinions on a subject matter. There is an Akan saying that Agoro be so efire anopa, to wit if you want to achieve results you must start early by working hard. That is what the CPP should be doing and not behave like the ostrich which is always procrastinating.

THERE is also a saying that a word to a wise is enough. It is TODAY's furlong hope that the CPP will immediately put its acts together and get the party machinery working hard towards 2012, and not wait till next year before it starts preparing.

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