NDC Plans "Boom Campaign" to Shock NPP

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is almost through with its campaign strategy for next year's general elections and that it would soon break its perceived silence and come out with what has been described as a "boom campaign", the party's Ashanti regional organizer, Mr. Kwasi Abayie has disclosed.

Consequently, the NPP has been warned to be on the alert by preparing and conditioning itself to absorb imminent shocks from the impending electoral defeat.

Abayie says the NDC has already come to terms with the defeat at the 2000 elections and has conditioned itself for the electoral battle in 2004. According to him the NDC has continued to exist as a vibrant party in opposition because it did prepare for both the celebration of electoral successes and the absorption of pain of defeats in the run-up to the 2000 elections.

The NDC, he said, is prepared to match the NPP boot for boot in the Ashanti region adding that the NPP might be joking if it continues to harbour the hope that winning all the 33 seats in the region is a foregone conclusion.

Abayie admitted that the NPP enjoys massive support in Ashanti but that does not affect NDC's determination to surprise Ghanaians by winning a record 12 seats in the region.

"Instead of conditioning themselves (NPP) so that when they are kicked out of office in 2004, they can continue to remain as active politicians, officials of the NPP have engaged themselves in propagating of self-pleasing messages that seek to convince the rank and file of the party that they are going to remain in power after 2004" the NDC organizer cautioned.

These claims come a week after the Ashanti regional chairman of the NPP, Mr. F.F. Anto disclosed to the Chronicle that all is set for the NPP to win all 33 seats in the region and secure at least 96% of the total votes in the region.

Anto had also disclosed that the only two seats occupied by the NDC at Ejura Sekyedumasi and New Edubiase were going to be annexed by the NPP to make NPPs support base in the region whole.

But Abayie described Anto's declarations as "self-satisfying jokes". According to him the two constituencies are still under the shade of the umbrella and cannot be pulled out no matter the might of the elephant.

Abayie, who has filed his nomination to contest for the party's parliamentary candidacy in the Kwabre constituency, noted that the NDC is growing from strength to strength in the region. "We have people coming to us on daily basis to register with us as defectors from the NPP, but we have not fully accepted them because we don't trust them".

He debunked the allegation that the party is currently finding it difficult securing viable candidates to contest next year's parliamentary elections stressing that the party has had not less than three nominees in each of the 33 constituencies in the region.

Abayie also criticized a section of the media, particularly some FM stations in Kumasi for he said is a "deliberate effort" by such radio stations to distort everything good about the NDC while polishing up everything bad about the NPP.