GCPP Faults Attempts To Establish Single Nkrumahist Party

The Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) on Thursday described as misleading a statement by the Nkrumaist Inter Party Co-ordinating Committee that there has been an amicable settlement of misunderstanding among the Nkrumaist parties.

Mr Dan Lartey, Leader of the GCPP said the General Secretaries of the parties failed to comply with the committee's directive to withdraw from circulation a document entitled: "Clarion call on all Nkrumaists" authored by the People's National Convention (PNC).

The document spells out PNC's position on the unity talks and the party's political agenda.

Mr Lartey said in an interview that at the Co-ordinating Committee meeting last Friday, September 14, the General Secretaries of the four participating parties - GCPP, PNC, the National Reform Party (NRP) and the Convention People's Party (CPP) - were asked to meet on Monday September 17 to conclude deliberations on a media publication headlined "PNC undermining Nkrumaist Unity Talks".

He said the committee was emphatic that the General Secretaries should ensure that all copies of the ''Clarion Call'' were retrieved before issuing any statement but they failed to do it hence GCPP's refusal to sign the statement.

The CPP, PNC and the NRP on Wednesday issued a statement that they were continuing with negotiations to form a single party.

Mr Lartey said, "GCPP stands for democracy and would ensure that within party structures and throughout the unity talks, we adhere to common positions adopted and to respect those positions."

"The statement is unfair and will further inhibit the goodwill spirit of the talks. GCPP will go along with all Nkrumaists with or without the unity talks."

A copy of the "Clarion call on all Nkrumaists" made available to the GNA and signed by Mr E. A. Halm-Quartey, PNC Greater Accra Regional Chairman, called for the expulsion of the ''evils within the party that have hindered us from coming together as one big family to save us the toil and pain of disunity."

The document called on Nkrumaists "to put their detractors to shame by letting not the name and symbol of the party be much of a problem...just as in 1979 we united and adopted a new name and a symbol as a party under Dr Hilla Limann as President and won, so can we do today under Dr Edward Mahama and the PNC."

The ''Clarion Call'' says: "The name CPP does not command any magic wand to win an election in this country. If it really does, the current CPP should have won the 2000 general elections hands down."