ELECTION FEVER GRIPS KUMASI

Kumasi the hotbed of politics in Ghana has been caught in the election excitement that is sweeping all over the country.

The streets are inundated with flags of all the contesting political parties especially that of the NPP, are displayed in buses, the market places offices, private building and treetops. And everywhere, the coming election is the most topical issue.

So far, all the parties, with the exception of the Dan Lartey’s GCPP, have held constituency and regional rallies in Kumasi with the NPP stealing the show with a massive rally at Bantama, where the party chalked over 60,000 votes in the last elections.

The NDC “The statesman” has learnt, has strategically avoided concentrating its time, energy and resources in the Kumasi metropolis but have rather turned its attention to the five constituencies it won in the Ashanti Region and areas where the party lost narrowly to the NPP.

Thus within a space of one month the party’s flagbearer, Prof. J.E.A Mills and Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings have taken turns to campaign in those areas.

George Kofi Adjei NPP Chairman of the Bantama constituency told this writer that the prospects of the NPP in next week’s election are very bright.

“We have travelled round the country to remote village and hamlets and the story has always been one of total support for the party and come December 7, victory will be ours,” Adjei said.

He said the hullabaloo that the NDC is making about the photo identity card, is testimony of a desperate party trying to come to terms with a crushing defeat in the elections.

The Bantama chairman said the party has taken steps to ensure that the NDC does not rig the polls, adding that the NPP has trained efficient and dedicated agents to police the polls.

Adjei cautioned the NDC not to exercise any false hopes of retaining the five seats it won in the region and noted that a number of reasons accounted for that scenario.

He said besides the numerous electoral malpractices that the NDC employed to win those seats, the ill fated NPP/PCP alliance also cost the NPP those seats.

“In Asokwa East for instance, the fielding of candidates by both parties split the alliance votes paving the way for NDC Alimed Musa to clinch the seat,” Adjei explained.

A source close to the NDC told this reporter that the party’s candidates in areas that they are sure of winning have been well motivated ever than before and this enabled them to undertake effective campaigning in the constituencies.

“Each candidate was assigned one pick-up car to be supported by a number of vehicles belonging to state departments and agencies in addition to over ?50 million in cash,” the source who pleaded anonymity said.

Generally, the electioneering campaigns by the various parties have been peaceful except for a few reported cases of assault of NPP supporters by agents of the NDC.

In one of such assaults, the NPP MP for Ahafo Ano South, Stephen Balado Manu was severely beaten by the NDC constituency organisers, Osei Akoto