Reform party throws in the towel

Accra, May 22, The National Reform Party (NRP) on Thursday announced it would not contest Presidential elections in 2008 and that specific constituencies with the political organisation and fundraising capacities "may field parliamentary candidates."

It said that should be based on the "understanding that such campaigns will have to rely fundamentally on their own resources and run campaigns that are consistent with our stated beliefs." Mr Kyeretwie Opoku, General Secretary of NRP in a statement to the media said, "We will formally re-launch our political project in 2009."

It said the decisions were arrived on Sunday, May 10 this year when leaders from the Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Volta and Western Region organisations of the NRP held a one-day consultation at the Presbyterian Church Hall, Osu, Accra.

It described the meeting as "the first of a series of consultations amongst Party activists planned to end a prolonged period of inactivity."

The statement declared "NRP will be increasingly active in the political debate in 2008 as part of our own rebuilding process. NRP will not form electoral alliances with any other party at either constituency or national level."

It said; "At the appropriate time, we may recommend particular options to the electorate. If so, our recommendation will reflect purely our best independent assessment of the national interest and not any deals with candidates or parties.

On the national situation, the statement said; "the national economic social and political situation is deteriorating rapidly and dangerously. Working Ghanaians' living standards and sense of security have utterly collapsed under intensified exploitation of our resources and labour by trans-national companies and theft by our leaders. "Our public institutions have collapsed under the weight of anomy, corruption and arbitrary political interference. Organised crime (and particularly the narcotics trade) is taking over our streets and our security apparatus."

It said despite the usual opportunistic rhetoric associated with elections, Ghana's political establishment was not participatory or in touch with ordinary peoples concerns.

"It is also unstable as disconnected elites mount undemocratic and increasingly desperate campaigns to protect or annex state power. Judging by recent party leadership contests vulgar displays of stolen wealth, deceit, ethnic chauvinism, electoral fraud and violence have now moved fully to the centre of Ghana's political process." The statement said, "Ghana desperately needs a national party that mobilises working people based on their class interests to struggle for a radical transformation of society in the interests of all. "Such a Party must be controlled and resourced democratically by its members. It must be built methodically and politically (not bureaucratically) from the ground up by activists that have the stamina for long-term struggle."

It said it has "chosen a long and difficult road with many uncertainties. And has done so because we believe that this is the only way we can contribute to the final liberation of our people from exploitation and underdevelopment." The party agreed it made mistakes after its original launch in 1999 and in the heat of the 2000 electoral campaign.

22 May 08