Ghanaians have for the past couples weeks been inundated with news of the New Patriotic Party’s presidential aspirants formally declaring their intentions to contest the party’s presidential slot. In a typical Ghanaian fashion, we have seen a lot of fun fair associated with picking nomination forms, filing nominations and launching their campaigns in different parts of the country.
A number of interesting issues have emerged concerning the New Patriotic Party’s opening of nominations; chief among them is the number of aspirants who have picked up their nominations forms to contest the flagbearership. Twenty people have so far collected forms; I believe the largest number of aspirants ever in the history of any political party since the forth republic came into being in 1992.There is also the issue of the large number of former ministers who were either kicked out of the government by the current president or resigned their positions to become aspirants. There are those who believe the larger number of aspirants gives credence to the fact that the NPP has men of talent and experience. We however wait for the end to the filing of nominations to see if all twenty men will return their forms and pay up the 250 million old cedis (a little over $ 24,000 dollars) as their filing fees.
What has really made the news is how the various candidates are a flaunting their wealth
through various campaign launches. I share in Dr. Amoako Tuffour assertion (
http://www.myjoyonline.com/politics/200710/9087.asp ) that such extravagance is good for our democracy. What these flaunting of wealth has done is shift the focus from messages of the candidates to the NPP delegates who will be electing the party presidential candidate come December 22 to their “showmanship”.
I am not going to get into the various polls that have been conducted and who they are touting as the likely candidate of the ruling NPP, it is however without doubt in my mind that Nana Akufo-Addo (former Foreign Affairs minister), Allan Kyeremanten (former Trader Minister), incumbent Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Hackman Owusu Agyeman (former Works and Housing Minister), and Dr Addo Kufour (former Defense Minister) are the fore runners.
I have been wondering what the 920 delegates will take into consideration selecting the party’s candidate for the 2008 general elections, would be on clarity of ideas and focus, hard work for the party or how much cash one flaunts? We wait to see as we draw closer to December.
