Spio plays up youthful card

In his bid to secure the "swing votes" of Ghanaian youth and women, Ekow Spio Garbrah, National Democratic Congress presidential hopeful, has promised to re-package and re-brand the party before the 2008 elections - capitalizing on his comparative "youth" to offer fresh direction and energy in the NDC.

Dr Spio Garbrah is currently on tour of the Northern Region, where he is soliciting for support ahead of the party's national delegates" congress next month.

On December 17, members of the NDC will assemble to elect their presidential flagbearer - and Spio says he is the man.

Addressing journalists at a press conference in Tamale on Saturday, he said the time has come for the party to re-model itself, and to move away from its old negative image.

"Some people have painted the NDC in the media as a violent, disunited party, the party of bad people and corrupt people."

He promised to change the Ghanaian perception of the NDC, just as he persuaded Ghanaians when they were afraid of the Value Added Tax and rejected it in 1995.

Dr Spio Garbrah, 57, will be up against John Evans Atta Mills, [age] former Vice President of Ghana under the former president Jerry John Rawlings, and a seasoned politician. The other main candidates are Eddie Annan [age] and Alhaji Iddrisu Mahama [age].

However, "It's not about who's been in the NDC for longest," he said. Dr Spio Garbrah has been a member of the NDC since 1994.

"It's also not about sympathy in terms of where maybe one of the candidates has been given a chance and things haven't worked well, so let's just sympathize with him and give him another chance," he said - referring to the thrice-defeated Mills, who was defeated twice in the 2000 elections and again in 2004.

"NDC delegates are tired of losing election after election," he added. "Elections have not been lost because of one person only; elections have been lost due to many factors - but the candidate called the flagbearer is perceived by most NDC members and delegates as an important factor."

Personality, charisma, persuasiveness, appeal are essential for a successful candidate, he said. When Rawlings won a general election, he won with 70 percent of the vote. The NDC's next flagbearer took just 44 percent - meaning there is some 13 percent to 14 percent of "swinging voters" out there, who voted for the NPP last time but who, when given the right message, might be enticed back to the NDC.

"It's time for change, its time for something different," he said - if the NDC is going to change Ghana, then it must first change itself, starting with electing a flagbearer who can win an election."

Dr Spio Garbrah also used the opportunity to again vehemently deny allegations that he sent a text message to former President Rawlings, the founder of the party, asking Rawlings to persuade Prof Mills to step out of the campaign due to his poor health.

Asked about the nature of his relationship with the former Vice President Mills and the other contestants, Dr Spio said that his relationship with all three is very cordial.

Whilst his colleague contenders have never visited him, he has visited all of them in their houses not once not twice, he said.