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Akufo-Addo insists on transparency for
2008 elections
Accra, Jan. 05, GhanadotGNA - Acceptable results of the 2008
elections must be born out of a transparent, free and fair
electoral process which should not be forfeited, Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo-Addo, New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential
candidate, said on Saturday.
He said: "2008 is a critical year and we need to work to
make sure that the process is transparent so that when the
NPP is declared the winner, all and sundry will accept in
good faith."
Speaking at the opening of the Conference of the Democratic
Union of Africa (DUA) under the auspices of the NPP in
Accra, Nana Akufo-Addo said the peace and stability that
Ghanaians are enjoying must be protected and sustained to
deepen democratic governance.
The conference, the third in the series to be organised by
the NPP, is under the theme: "Social Action - Working for
your community. Putting Politics into practice" is to
promote the participation of women in liberal democracy
across Africa.
Nana Akufo-Addo said the country's decision to deepen the
culture of good governance left it with no option but to
intensify the shift to decentralisation in all aspects of
government.
"It is through bringing governance to the people that we can
meet our responsibilities to them in their everyday
affairs."
He said deepening the culture of participatory democracy
called for a critical look at the constitution provision on
election and appointment of local authorities under the
District Assembly framework and that once the institutional
platform was put in place, the citizen must be the centre of
focus.
"The citizens must then take the initiative and have the
determination and courage to speak out, to take action at
the grassroots and district level...to define priorities for
projects and programmes...
"We must shift our thinking from dependency to enterprise.
We must not hope for others to take care of us," Nana
Akufo-Addo said.
Dwelling on the conference theme, he said to overlook the
many critical ways in which women specially were holding up
in the world, was to ignore the central place of over 50
percent of the population.
Nana Akufo-Addo said women must take their place at the helm
of affairs because that constituted the basis of social
transformation.
He said the NPP government in the last seven years had
undertaken unprecedented social measures such as the
National Health Insurance Scheme and the free compulsory
basic education programme that clearly demonstrated the
practicality of politics.
Providing insight into the conference, Mr Peter Mac-Manu,
the NPP Chairman who is also Chairman of DUA, said it
offered the platform to unite all centre and centre-right
political parties in Africa.
He said liberal democracy, which is the hallmark of centre
rightists, had proved itself all over the world and that NPP
was convinced it was the only system of government that
would spearhead the African renewal.
Mr Mac-Manu said the NPP believed it was critical to give
women hope, raise their expectations, and rekindle their
enthusiasm to enhance their role in community politics.
"Our party will continue to give women opportunity to reach
for the highest levels of elective and appointive offices
because our party's constitution enjoins it, our philosophy
and ideology mandate it and our own innate nature impels
it," he said.
Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Women and Children Affairs,
said one way for women to be encouraged in the party would
be to allow women to run parliamentary elections at areas
where the NPP considered as safe seats.
She said the issue of HIV/AIDS still remained a challenge so
there was the need for leaders to use their political
leverage and action to get government involved in a more
affirmative action on the virus.
Hajia Mahama said in Ghana and in the world, statistics
still showed that female HIV/AIDS victim is higher.
GNA
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