Don't follow Gbagbo's example - NPP to Mahama

The New Patriotic Party’s flagship polling station campaign, ‘Adopt a polling station’ is gathering momentum as more people continue to donate money and food items to the campaign.

With regional launches held in Western, Central, Ashanti and Eastern, the ‘Adopt a polling station’ campaign has seen ordinary people contributing to safeguard the party’s votes at the polling station.

The ‘Adopt A Polling Station’ campaign seeks to, among other things, create awareness on the need for polling station agents and officials to be resourced during elections.

At the launch of the campaign in Koforidua over the weekend, the Campaign Manager, Mr. Mac Manu said the party is greatly concerned about the activities at the various polling stations, and they are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that party agents are properly resourced during the elections.

He allayed fears that, the party can’t protect the votes at the polling station, and said the ‘adopt a polling station’ campaign is one of several ways the party is using to protect votes at the polling station level.

“Nobody should be afraid, some people are inquiring from me, the fact that NDC may rig the election or may not cede power should they lose, let me assure you, that is not going to happen,” he said.

He advised President Mahama to take a cue from what happened to Lauren Gbabgo when he refused to accept defeat.

“If you look around Ivory Coast what happened to him [Gbagbo] when he refused to cede power, his wife as well as his special aide who was causing trouble, are all languishing in prisons, so the NDC and John Mahama must take a lesson from that to cede power to guarantee peace in the country,” he said.

According to Mac Manu, the responsibility is on party members and sympathisers to ‘adopt a polling’ station and make it their own.

Since the launch of ‘Adopt a polling station’ campaign about a month ago, he said, “ the enthusiasm has been good, we need more people, we need to protect the over 28,000 polling stations and if we do that, Mahama can never say he won’t accept defeat, he will go.”

The Director-In-Charge of National Fundraising Team of the opposition NPP, Ken Ofori-Atta, in his addressed urged party supporters not to sit on the fence because victory is near.

He said, the ‘Adopt a polling station’ campaign is aimed at ensuring that adequate resources are generated both in cash and in kind to support polling station agents that would be deployed to the various polling stations across the country to remedy some loopholes that were created in their duties in the 2012 elections which provided opportunities for irregularities in the election.

At the Koforidua launch, market women donated bags of rice and other food items to support the campaign. Many also bought the ‘adopt a polling station’ coupons.

Party sympathizers and members can donate any amount of money via mobile money on 0548407629 or through bank via an account it has at the Kojo Thompson Road Branch of Zenith Bank under the name ‘I am for Nana Foundation’ with the account 6010614929.

‘Adopt-A-Polling Station’ forms have also been deposited at the various NPP offices across the country with soft copies available on www.iamfornana.com/adopt.