We're ready for December 7 says EC, but 3 political parties divided

With 7 days for Ghanaians to decide who leads them in the next four years, the news media on Friday, 25^th November, 2016 were dominated by the following headlines:

The Daily Graphic with the headline “We’re ready for Dec 7 Says EC, but 3 political parties divided”, says with  preparation  towards  the 2016  elections  at fever  pitch, the Electoral  Commission (EC) and  three political  parties  say they  have  done all within  their  power for successful polls. On the special voting  which  comes off on Thursday, December1,2016, the Head of Communications at  the EC, Mr. Eric Dzakpasu, told the Daily Graphic in Accra,  yesterday that all the necessary logistics, including pinks sheets and ballot papers, had been dispatched to the  centres where  the special voting  would take place.

The Chronicle also carries the headline “CDS is out of order … He is scaring people from voting – Hackman”. According to the story a former minister of Foreign Affairs in the Kuffour administration, Mr. Hackman Owusu Agyemang, says the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Marshal Michael Samson- Oje, is completely out of order for making statements likely to scare voters away from the polls in December. According to Mr. Owusu Agyemang, nowhere in the world would a CDS engage the media to warn citizens, at the neglect of their constitutional mandate.

“Reject NDC, NPP to restore sanity in politics – JOY” is a headline in the Daily Graphic. The paper reports that, the only  Independent Presidential Candidate in the 2016 election , Mr. Jacob  Osei Yeboah, has  called on Ghanaians  to reject  the National  Democratic  Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on December 7 to, in his  words, ‘’restore sanity  into  Ghanaian politics and safeguard the peace the country is enjoying.’’ Popularly known as JOY, Mr. Yeboah  said  these two political  parties  were  taking advantage of their  popularity  and numbers  to act  in ways that divide  the citizenry and make  politics look like a war.

The Ghanaian Times also carries the headline “APC endorses president Mahama”. According to the story, the All Peoples Congress (APC) has endorsed the second term bid of John Mahama, the presidential candidate of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC). The decision to endorse the candidature of President Mahama, according to the APC, was driven by the development he has championed within his first term.

Today also has the caption “Nduom rallies support for PPP in Western Region” The paper reports that the 2016 presidential candidate of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, has urged voters in Tarkwa and Bogoso in the Western Region to vote for him and the Party’s parliamentary candidates in the region. Dr. Nduom who spoke at separate rallies at Tarkwa and Bogoso on Saturday, November 26, 2016 could not understand why the two towns, which are endowed with gold, bauxite and vast green lands for agriculture, should not be like Johannesburg in South Africa.

We conclude today’s newspaper review with the headline from the Daily Guide “NDC fights NPP over Woyome”. According to the story the sudden resurfacing of the fraudulent payment made to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) bankroller, Alfred Agbesi Woyome in the name of judgement debt, appears to be causing anxiety in the ruling party a few days to the December 7 elections. The NDC is struggling to rope in the NPP flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in the judgement debt conundrum, with the allegation that he also superintended over similar payments, citing the drillship saga.

Click on this link to read more stories