Obuasi (Ash), Feb. 10, GNA - The New Patriotic Party (NPP) considers this year's general elections in Ashanti region as "operation maximise votes", Mr Dan Botwe, General Secretary of the party, has said. "It is operation maximise votes. We can't accept anything below 70 percent", he said.
Mr Botwe, who was opening a three-day capacity building workshop for the party's constituency executives in the region at Obuasi on Monday, said, "we are going to remain focused for the attainment of this operation".
The General Secretary said even though the party's performance in the region was commendable, "there is the need for us to examine our performance constituency by constituency".
Mr Botwe said the party won the 2000 elections because it was focused and determined adding that the NPP would always emphasise on good management and training and not to rig the election to win power. He said the NPP was being managed as a business concern and as a political party and "Our objective is to win political power and use it for the benefit of the people".
Mr Botwe said even though the nation had been under constitutional rule, there were intimidations in the country until the past three years.
"Three years, the people have started realising what we have done. On Sunday, I was with the Adansi-Asokwa Member of Parliament in his constituency and the people were giving testimonies about the government", Mr Botwe said.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, gave the assurance that the government would ensure that the forthcoming elections were conducted in peacefully.
He said: "I want to assure the whole world that as a regional minister, I will see to it that there will be no rigging and there will be no 'machomen' in the region during the elections".
Mr Boafo advised the party's constituency executives not to allow themselves to be "trapped by the enemy" by listening to falsehood. Mr Lord Commey, the National Organiser of the party, said a number of issues including government-party relations, information management and communication will be discussed at the workshop.
Mr Frederick Antoh, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the party, said the workshop would assist the party to realise its objective of obtaining 96 per cent of votes in the region in the forthcoming elections.
