Nana urges EC to be transparent … in 2012 elections

He made the call when speaking on 'Our Yearning for Peace' at the National Interdenominational Prayer Service of the NPP at Essipong near Takoradi on Sunday.

The prayer service was on the theme: 'Setting forth through the hand of the Lord'. Nana Akufo-Addo said the EC had to ensure that the election was conducted without manipulation and coercion from any quarter so that 'the winner would be the victor'.

He said the NDC was declared the winner of the 2008 election with a small majority in the history of the country. Nana Akufo-Addo said under normal circumstance, there should have been a run-off, but the NPP did not press for this. The party considered national interest, peace and prosperity to be paramount.

Nana Akufo-Addo said this year, the people would have to make a choice between corruption and integrity, and stagnation and progress. He said the NPP stood for peace and that peace is not negotiable.

Nana Akufo-Addo said the party organized the church service to ask for God's blessing so that the electioneering campaign and the 2012 would take place without any disturbances.

It was also meant to pray to God to give the NPP flag bearer compassion and courage to carry out his responsibilities. In a sermon, Apostle Dr. F. E. Antwi, Area Apostle of the Church of Pentecost, said peace is an important prerequisite for the prosperity and development of the country.

He asked the people to be peacemakers by being peaceful in their conduct and actions. Apostle Antwi said the country and its leaders had not always done what God expected of them.

He said people should therefore repent from their sins, adding 'True repentance is an essential step now to peace'. Apostle Antwi was hopeful that God would give the country the right leadership in 2012.

Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, National Chairman of the NPP, read the first scripture reading while Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, the Minority Leader in Parliament, read the second and Nana Akufo-Addo, the third. GNA