GRi Newsreel Ghana 05 - 12 - 2000
Both photo and thumbprint ID cards holders can vote - Supreme Court
Police fire tear-gas at protesters
Election 2000 kicks off with "special voting"
Four opposition parties form electoral alliance
Vote NDC out -
Professor Hagan
Police releases ID
cards to owners
GJA guidelines on election coverage launch
Political parties wind up campaigns in
Ashanti
Some 77 per cent of voters issued with photo
ID
NPP asks IGP to investigate rumours
Goosie faults government for laying off
agriculture extension officers
Vote NDC for more development – Salia
J.H. Mensah says Brong Ahafo under military
siege
No special voting for polling agents – EC
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 Dec. 2000
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously ruled that registered voters with either the photo or thumb-printed ID card can vote in Thursday's presidential and parliamentary elections.
It ruled further that voters with thumb-printed ID cards are not required to be identified at polling stations by party agents.
The panel was composed of Mrs Justice Joyce Bamford-Addo (presiding), Mr Justice A.K.B. Ampiah, Mr Justice F.Y. Kpegah, Mr Justice William Atugubah and Mr George Lamptey.
A voter, Mr Philip Kwaku Apaloo of Kaneshie in Accra, filed the suit challenging the decision of the EC that only photo ID cards would be used in the elections. In his suit filed last Wednesday, he said the EC's decision was inconsistent with Article 42 of the constitution. Mr Apaloo sought a relief that not until the case is determined, the elections should not be conducted.
The court declared as void the Electoral Commission's directives issued on November 11 that the Returning Officer and party agents must identify voters in possession of thumb-printed cards before allowing them to vote.
The court, in summing up, said the EC’s directives as given in its Guide lines to electoral officers and Gazette Notice are inconsistent with the 1992 constitution. It reserved its reasons till January 17, 2001.
The EC had said a prospective voter without a photo ID card will be required to go through a procedure prescribed by the EC to establish his/her identification before being allowed to vote. A holder of a thumb-printed card will, therefore, be treated as someone without a voter's ID card.
The procedure to follow for those without a voter's ID card is spelled out in Chapter 3 of "Guide to Election Officials 2000", the EC's document on voting procedures, as follows:
a. Check the name of the person in the Name Reference List.
b. If the name is not on the list, the person must be politely told to go away from the polling station.
c. If the name is on the List and all the candidates/party agents affirm that they know the person, allow the person to go through the voting process straight away. Otherwise, ascertain the person's identity by proceeding as follows:
d. Pick out the original registration form of the person using his/her Voter ID
Number on the Name Reference List.
e. Ask the person to give you and the agents the following information, which should be on the registration form:
Father's name
Mother's name
Hometown
Age
f. If the information given by the person is correct in all particulars and the candidate/party agents are satisfied that the person's identity is not in doubt, then allow him/her to go through the voting process.
g. Compile a list of all persons who vote without ID cards.
Mr Norbert Kudjawu, counsel for Mr Apaloo, said the EC wanted to disenfranchise voters with thumb-printed cards because nowhere is it written in the constitution that such voters should not cast their vote.
He said there are a lot of registered voters who could not have access to the photo ID card through no fault of theirs.
Mr Kudjawu contended that the plaintiff is a registered voter with a thumb-printed ID card but because he tried in vain to have it replaced with the photo ID card, he knew he would be disenfranchised if the EC was allowed to implement its directives. The writ was filed on Wednesday and the replacement exercise ended last Sunday.
He pointed out that the process of issuing out the directives was unconstitutional, adding that it should have been laid it before Parliament for it to decide whether it was feasible to have holders of thumb-printed ID cards to vote alongside with those with photo ID cards.
Counsel said the EC has not come out to say that the thumb-printed ID cards are no more in use and that the directives, if properly put, means that it is legal to vote with the card.
Mr Kudjawu, therefore, urged the court to grant the relief sought by the plaintiff and rule that those with thumb-printed ID cards should be allowed to vote on December 7 without any other form of identification procedure.
Replying, Mr Johnny Quarshie-Idun, leading counsel for the EC, said the plaintiff misconstrued the EC's directives to mean that those without photo ID cards would not be allowed to vote.
Counsel explained that in any democratic dispensation, the surest way of ensuring free and fair elections is the production of photo ID card at the point of voting at a polling station.
He said the EC has been given powers under the constitution to use its discretion and administrative procedures to conduct elections devoid of any intimidation or rigging. This, he said, was exactly what it put into place to achieve that objective.
Mr Quarshie-Idun pointed out that the EC has complained about many problems it encountered during the previous elections when the thumb-printed ID cards were used.
In order to avoid them, it put in place measures, which the constitution permits it to do to ensure that proper identification of voters was made.
Counsel said the EC's directives were not only self-explanatory but one of the best means of ensuring that those who will vote are people who are alive.
Mr Quashie-Idun urged the court to dismiss the writ and allow the directives that voters without photo ID cards must be identified at polling stations in order to avoid any rigging.
Dr. Obed Asamoah, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, announced himself to the court to make submissions as to whether the EC's directives given in a gazette was constitutional.
Mr Quashie-Idun objected but the court reminded him that the Attorney General, as the Chief Legal Officer of the Government, has a legal right to make any submission in either a criminal or civil matter.
Dr. Asamoah said the constitution requires the EC to issue directives through a Constitutional Instrument (CI) and not administrative instructions.
He said the EC by asking party agents to identify voters with thumb-printed cards amounted to delegating part of its functions to representatives of politicians who have no legal business to do with the conduct of the elections.
Besides that, he said, the EC, again by the directives, which are not promulgated, subjected its authority derived from the constitution to persons who are not legally qualified to look after the conduct of the elections.
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Police fire tear-gas at protesters
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 December 2000
Anti-riot police on Monday fired tear-gas into hundreds of protesters who called at the premises of the Supreme Court to back the sole use of photo identity cards for Thursday's general election.
The Court was hearing a writ filed by Phillip Apaloo, a voter, against the Electoral Commission (EC) after the Commission had declared that only photo identity card holders are eligible to vote and those without it must go through a procedure set out by the commission before allowed to vote.
Reports said the protestors, who were chanting "No photo, no vote", trooped to the court building as proceedings continued.
It was also alleged that the protestors, believed to be supporters of political parties that favoured the sole use of photo ID cards in the elections, were hurling stones at the police who were deployed there to maintain law and order.
Last Sunday, New Patriotic Party (NPP) leaders asked their supporters at a rally at Indafa Park in Accra to march to the court. This was said amidst shouts of "no photo, no vote".
The NPP has maintained that it would not agree to the use of any other form of identification process during voting apart from the photo identity cards.
When contacted over the incident, a source at the police headquarters told the GNA that there had been some injuries.
The source could however not confirm whether the injuries were from police tear-gas, gunshot or stones from the protestors themselves.
"What we know is that someone got injured in the process. What I cannot tell is whether the injury was caused by stones or tear-gas," he said. He said details of the incident were yet to be confirmed by officers on the ground.
Meanwhile, the court is expected to give ruling in the case later in the day at 1800 hours.
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Election 2000 kicks off with "special voting"
Accra
(Greater Accra) 05 December 2000
Election
2000 kicked off on Tuesday with the "special voting" after the
Supreme Court cleared the knotty issue of the form of identification for the
poll.
Members of
the Armed Forces, Police, Prisons, Prisons and Customs, Excise and Preventive
Services, journalists, EC officials and staff of essential services who would
be on duty on Thursday are casting their ballots from 0700 to 1700 hours.
Seven
candidates supported by seven political parties are contesting the presidential
vote. The are Mr Dan Lartey of the Great Consolidated Popular Party, Professor
John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress, and Professor George Hagan
of the Convention People's Party.
The rest
are Dr. Edward Mahama of the People's National Convention, Dr. Charles
Wereko-Brobby of the United Ghana Movement (UGM), Mr John Agyekum Kufuor of the
New Patriotic Party, and Mr Goosie Tanoh of the National Reform Party.
According
to figures compiled by the Ghana News Agency (GNA), 1,063 Parliamentary
candidates are now contesting the December elections. This represents 73.3 per
cent increase over the 1996 figure of 780.
The figures
show that 55 candidates are contesting as independent. The rest are contesting
on the ticket of seven political parties.
The EC
postponed the special voting for 24 hours from Monday after a voter sued the EC
over its decision to allow only holders of photo ID cards to vote.
A
five-member Supreme Court, presided over by Mrs Justice Joyce Bamford-Addo,
unanimously ruled that registered voters with either the photo or thumbprint ID
card can vote in Thursday's presidential and parliamentary elections.
It ruled
further that voters with thumbprint ID cards are not required to be identified
at polling stations by Returning Officers and party agents.
Other
members were Mr Justice A.K.B. Ampiah, Mr Justice F.Y. Kpegah, Mr Justice
William Atugubah and Mr George Lamptey.
The court
declared as void the Electoral Commission's directives issued on November 11
that the Returning Officer and party agents must identify voters in possession
of thumbprint cards.
It also
declared void other directives given to polling agents and party
representatives at polling stations with regard to identification of voters
with thumbprint cards.
The court,
in summing up, said both directives given by the EC are inconsistent with the
constitution. It reserved its reasons till January 17, 2001.
Voting was
going on smoothly at the designated polling stations, which are mainly police
stations. The ballot boxes, which are sealed, will not be opened at the end of
voting. They will be transported to safe places for storage and opened only
after the general population has voted
on Thursday.
Agents of
the various political parties watched as the transparent ballot boxes were
opened to the voters before being sealed for balloting to start.
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Bimbilla
(Northern Region) 05 Dec 2000
Four
opposition political parties have reached an electoral alliance in the Bimbilla
constituency to vote for the New Patriotic Party in both the presidential and
parliamentary elections. They are the NPP, UGM, CPP, and PNC.
This was
disclosed to the GNA in separate interviews with the NPP and CPP parliamentary
candidates for the constituency, Mr Minu Mohammed Wumbei and Mr Sulemana
Kin-Jas, respectively.
The two
candidates explained that only a combined force of the opposition parties could
remove the NDC from power. According to the NPP parliamentary candidate, the
NDC has run out of ideas. "We need to inject new blood into the system
with better ideas to ensure good governance."
Mr Wumbei
said the NDC government had taken credit for rural electrification but
explained that the project was initiated by the CPP government of the late Dr.
Kwame Nkrumah.
He said Dr.
Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the NDC parliamentary candidate for the constituency, has
lost popularity with the people and that explained his electoral defeat in the
1996 general election, adding: "he is still unpopular with the
electorate".
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Vote NDC out -
Professor Hagan
Cape Coast (Central Region) 05
December 2000
Ghanaians have been called upon to
vote out the NDC and replace it with a government of the CPP.
Professor George Hagan,
presidential candidate for the CPP, on Monday said the 20-year rule of the
PNDC/NDC, has brought about hunger, poverty and unemployment and said Ghanaians
should not endorse the government to rule the nation again.
Addressing a rally at Cape Coast,
Professor Hagan pledged that a CPP government would re-introduce free education
and health care, re-activate abandoned factories to create jobs and
agricultural subsidies restored.
"With proper administration
and priority set up, the government will get money to implement these
programmes," he said.
He cautioned the electorate
against selling their votes and asked them to turn out in their numbers and to
vote massively for the party on Thursday.
Mr Kwesi Pratt, Chairman of the
Publicity Committee, said the NDC must be replaced with a good government.
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Police releases
ID cards to owners
Cape Coast (Central Region) 05
December 2000
The Police has returned some of
the 40 voters identity cards allegedly found on a man at Yamoransa to their
owners to enable them to exercise their franchise on Thursday.
The Central Regional Commander, Mr
Jossie Amofa, on Monday said those, who have been given back their cards gave
statements to the police while the rest would be given theirs after going
through the same exercise.
He said the police was awaiting
advice from the Attorney General's Department on the suspect, Anthony Entsil.
Mr Amofa, who was interacting with
media personnel on issues connected to the elections, said the cards were photo
and not thumb-printed IDs as earlier reported.
Newspaper reports on November 23,
said Entsil had been handed over to the police for possessing 40 thumb-printed
ID cards at Yamoransa in the Mfantseman District.
He was alleged to have collected
the cards from their owners under the pretext of assisting them to acquire
photo ones and was arrested by some members of the public.
Entsil was said to have told the
police that he was asked to collect the cards by some leading members of a
political party in the Mfantseman-West constituency to prevent them from voting
for another party.
Mr Amofa described the
electioneering period in the region as "quite peaceful with just isolated
reports of clashes".
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GJA guidelines on election coverage launch
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 December 2000
Mrs. Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, president of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), on Monday charged journalists to uphold their professional integrity in the coverage of the December 7 election.
This is because any inaccurate reportage of the election would contribute to chaos that can cause political instability in the country.
Mrs. Affenyi-Dadzie said this when she launched the GJA and Electoral Commission's guidelines on election coverage for media practitioners sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) at a ceremony in Accra.
She declared: "I have every confidence in the ability of the Ghanaian media to cover the elections effectively. But at the same time, I think we shall be the wiser if we were on our guard to avoid mistakes that have the potential of throwing our elections out of gear and thereby bringing the results into disrepute.
"In our bid to scoop our competitors, let us exercise caution and know that speed should be backed by accuracy," the GJA president stated.
Mrs. Affenyi-Dadzie explained that "the guidelines deal in general with principles regarding non-declaration and declaration of results, election dispute reporting and the responsibility of the Electoral Commission and political parties towards media personnel.
It is simply a supplement to the GJA Code of Ethics and the National Media Commission's guidelines for political reporting.
The GJA President however cautioned that "the guidelines do not in any way seek to interfere with the intention of political parties to compile their own results..... They are meant to guard journalists from pitfalls that are likely to undermine their professional integrity in the coverage of the elections".
According to her, it is important that the media take a cue from the American elections where inaccurate predictions placed the winner in a fix, adding that the US experience has proved that "even old and stable democracies like that of the US are not entirely invulnerable to electoral deficiencies".
Mrs. Affenyi-Dadzie however stated: "it is true that the US, with over 200 years experience of the practice of democracy, has so far proved that it is capable of resolving the issue within its strong democratic culture without any chance of political turmoil".
Mr. Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafo, Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission, advised the media not to "fuel already tense situations but must be responsible so that we don't cause confusion".
He urged that the media should not allow itself to be used as a propaganda tool by anyone but must be circumspect in their reportage, adding: "every little thing that each one of us does could mar our democracy".
Mr. Kwesi Afriyie Badu, programmes co-ordinator of the FES, described the country's electoral system as one of the most accountable in the whole world.
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Political parties wind up campaigns in
Ashanti
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 05 December 2000
With only two days to the polls, the two major political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), are winding up their campaigns in the Ashanti Region, with rallies in Kumasi, Obuasi, New Edubiase, Akomadan, Morontuo, Bosomtwe and Bosome-Freho.
President Jerry John Rawlings led the NDC campaign team to Kumasi and its environs.
At a rally at the Jackson Park, the President asked all the presidential aspirants to show sincerity, honesty and fairness in their campaigns.
He thanked Ghanaians for their support for the PNDC/NDC, which is responsible for the restoration of peace in the country, adding: "this is my last appearance as President to you".
Professor John Atta Mills, the NDC presidential candidate for Thursday's election, said the task of nation building is difficult and requires peace and stability.
He therefore appealed to Ghanaians to ensure free, fair and violent-free elections to enable the winning party to lead the country to progress.
Mr. Martin Amidu, the party's presidential running mate, spearheaded another team to Twabidi in the Ahafo-Ano North District to canvass for votes.
He appealed to the people to renew the mandate of the NDC to enable it to complete the good work it has started.
"We have the experience and commitment to rule the country since President Rawlings has laid the foundation," Mr. Amidu said.
Other areas Mr. Amidu visited were Obuasi, Manso-Nkwanta, Mpatuom and Antoakrom in the Amansie West District and Trabuom, Nweneso and Foase in the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District.
The Subin constituency of the NPP also held what it termed "NPP victory rally" at the Jackson's Park in Kumasi at the weekend.
Mr. Edward Osei Kwaku, Asokwa-West MP, said the NDC will lose Thursday's election, adding that this is the year for change.
Mr. S.K. Boafo, Subin MP, said Ghanaians no longer want to live in peace clouded in fear.
Dr Kofi Dsane-Selby, a leading member of the party, asked supporters of the NDC join the NPP in spreading its good tidings.
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Some 77 per cent of voters issued with
photo ID
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 December 2000
The Electoral Commission on Monday said that 77.34 per cent of thumb-printed voter ID card holders have been issued with photo ID cards.
The total number of registered voters without photo ID cards was 6,821,329 and the exercise covered 5,256,389.
Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, Director of Elections, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra said these figures were compiled before the mopping-up exercise, which ended on Sunday.
He said the commission changed from its traditional approach of carrying out the exercise simultaneously in all regions to moving from region to region.
This was to ensure that registered voters did not travel over long distances to have their photographs taken. It was also to reduce the pressure on cameramen and other staff at the registration centres, Mr Arhin said. Mr. Arhin said the commission used a maximum of 900 cameras.
He said regional statistics on the exercise indicated that the Northern Region, with 690,055 thumb-printed cards, issued 605,572 photo ID cards, representing 87.76 per cent.
Upper East, with 359,129 thumb-printed cards, issued 308,837 photo ID cards, representing 86 per cent, Upper West, with 220,413 had 173,737 representing 78.82 per cent.
The Brong Ahafo, with 937,636 thumb-printed cards, issued 736,940 photo ID cards representing 78.60 per cent, Eastern, with a population of 1,023,513, had 772,063 issued with photo representing 75.43 per cent.
Central Region, with 698,369 thumb-printed cards, issued 524,057 photo ID cards, representing 75.04 per cent; Ashanti Region, with 1,149,339 thumb-printed cards, had 860,628 photo ID cards, representing 74.88 per cent.
Western Region, with 741,554 thumb-printed cards, had 552,414 photo cards, representing 74.49 per cent; Volta Region with 724,107 thumb-printed ID cards, had 524,613 issued with photo ID cards, representing 72.25 per cent; and Greater Accra Region, with 277,214 thumb-printed cards, issued 197,528 issued photo IDs, representing 70.13 per cent.
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NPP asks IGP to investigate rumours
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 December 2000
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has written a letter to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to investigate rumours that Dr Tony Aidoo, Deputy Defence Minister, has authorised delivery of military uniforms to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) headquarters.
The letter, signed by Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, NPP campaign manager, and copied to the media in Accra, said the NPP has received various reports on activities of the NDC involving the military.
"We try to investigate all that we hear and pass on to the police those that seem credible," it said.
"But the latest is so potentially explosive that I have to bring it to your immediate attention."
The letter stated: "In the face of other reports that we have heard of orchestrated attempts by soldiers to disrupt the electoral process and to intimidate voters, and also the recent report of uniforms being stolen from Q.M stores, we have decided to bring this to your notice.
"Should it prove to be true or worse be true and implemented, the damage it will do to the reputation of our armed forces will be incalculable."
The NPP said it hoped that the matter will be treated seriously and will prove to be a false alarm.
The party said it has also received reports of "soldiers" being used to terrorise citizens in the Tolon constituency of the Northern Region and asked whether they were thugs masquerading as Armed Forces personnel.
In another development, the NPP has asked Ghana Television (GTV) to be fair in the coverage of political party activities.
In a letter to the Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation released to the press on Monday, the NPP said it has received information on GTV's intention to air a prepared programme for use by the station, GAR, Radio One, and TV3 within the next three days. It did not specify the programme.
The NPP said GTV aired a similar programme that sought to attack the integrity and competence of its flag-bearer, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, just two days to the 1996 polling day.
"We are relying on your judgement and commitment to fair play and building of our infant democracy to ensure that such a programme is not run," the party said.
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Goosie faults government for laying off
agriculture extension officers
Ho (Volta Region) 05 December 200
Mr. Goosie Tanoh, flagbearer of the National Reform Party (NRP), on Monday criticised the government for laying off agricultural extension officers.
He said this has had a negative impact on the agricultural sector adding that NRP government would put premium on agricultural extension services to revamp agriculture and ensure increased production of food for home consumption and export.
Mr. Tanoh said this when he paid a courtesy call on the chiefs of the Asogli Traditional Area as part of his tour of the southern sector of the Volta Region.
The NRP presidential candidate said "by modernising agriculture, the NRP will assist farmers to provide adequate food for the people, increase industrial growth, create jobs and raise incomes of the people".
Mr Tanoh said the party's main concern would be to fight poverty if it assumes power.
"We don't accuse anybody; we don't insult anybody; we have only one enemy who is poverty," he stated.
Mr. Tanoh said the Volta Region is under-developed even though it has enormous human and material resources, and promised that, if voted to power, the NRP would develop agriculture in the region.
He said his government would also offer opportunities for the people in the region to produce light industrial goods for markets in Togo, Benin and Nigeria.
On the up-coming elections, Mr Tanoh said if the photo identification card was accepted as the only identification for voters, the coming elections would be "largely free and fair".
Mr. Tanoh and his entourage, which included Mr Cletus Kosiba, the Party's running mate, were received by more than 12 chiefs and elders led by Togbe Kwasi Afele IV, Chief of Hliha in Ho.
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Vote NDC for more development – Salia
Jirapa (Upper West) 05 December 2000
Mr. Edward Salia, Minister of State at the Office of the President, has called on Ghanaians to vote for the NDC for more development.
"I expect the electorate to reciprocate the government's development efforts by turning out on December 7 to vote massively for the NDC," he said.
Mr. Salia was addressing a political rally organised by the constituency branch of the NDC to end its series of rallies in the constituency on Sunday.
He appealed to communities that have not yet had their share of development not to be disappointed, and urged them to return the NDC to Power.
Mr. Salia, who is also the NDC parliamentary candidate for Jirapa constituency, appealed to supporters of the party to ensure peace during and after the elections.
"The dog that has the bone in the mouth does not bark because if it does, the bone will fall out of its mouth for another dog to pick it," he added.
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J.H. Mensah says Brong Ahafo under military
siege
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 05 December 2000
Mr. Joseph Henry Mensah, New Patriotic Party MP for Sunyani East, on Monday deplored the deployment of armed soldiers all over the Brong Ahafo Region.
"With only a few days to go for the elections, the situation makes it as if the region is under a military siege," he said.
He has therefore called on President Jerry John Rawlings and the Ministers of the Interior and Defence to explain the reasons behind the situation.
Mr. Mensah expressed the concern in a statement issued to the press in Sunyani. "We in Brong Ahafo Region deserve a clear explanation and justification in order to be convinced that the deployment of soldiers at many points is not a measure of intimidation or even a prelude to a military coup."
The statement stated: "we need a justification from President Rawlings, commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, the Ministers of Defence and Interior and Mr Joe Agyepong, the Regional Police Commander and head of the Regional Security Council".
It said that on Tuesday, the NPP obtained a police permit to hold a rally at Kukuom in the Asunafo South constituency, whilst the NDC did not.
Despite a clarification of the situation by the police, the statement added, the incumbent NDC MP, Mr Francis Adu Poku, kept on patrolling the venue of the NPP rally with some youth, ostensibly to disrupt the event.
It said when a report was made to the police, the MP came there and physically assaulted the local NPP chairman, Mr Anthony Badu, and his vice in the presence of the police.
Instead of charging the MP with assault, the police took a complaint from him and proceeded to bring in reinforcement as if Kukuom was in a state of chaos.
The statement said that whilst the rally was in progress, a contingent of soldiers arrived there, causing the crowd to disperse, adding: "the situation showed a sad state of relationship between the electorate and the army who are supposed to protect them".
"Who called the large police contingent and the military reinforcement and for what reason?" the statement asked.
The statement said that, earlier, Mr Adu Poku had threatened to get NDC activists who had defected to the NPP arrested.
The following day, they were really arrested and locked up by the police at Kukuom. The statement said the police failed to explain how worse the security situation in the area was to warrant the support of the armed forces.
It asked if it is now a fashion in the region that military force is the first line of resort in dealing with every problem of law and order.
It added that on Sunday morning, six armed soldiers arrived at the family house of the late Professor Philip Kofi Amoah, NPP parliamentary candidate for Asutifi South at Achirensua where his relatives, party members and sympathisers had gathered to mourn him.
The armed soldiers stayed at the funeral grounds for hours with their intimidating presence and guns, it said.
There were no policemen present and there had also not been any incidence that constituted a breach of the peace. "So who sent them there and for what reason?" The statement queried.
Meanwhile, three other NPP parliamentary candidates, Mr Paul Okoh, Nana G.W. Amponsah and Mr Joe Danquah of Asutifi North, Asunafo South and Wenchi West constituencies, respectively, have corroborated Mr Mensah's concern.
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Lashib (Greater Accra) 05 December 2000
Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, the First Lady, on Sunday said the NDC administration has improved upon the country's social infrastructure since 1982, and urged Ghanaians to vote for it to enable it to continue with its development programmes.
"Don't use your certainty to look for uncertainty; you would be making a big mistake," she cautioned.
Nana Konadu was addressing separate NDC rallies at Lashibi in the Tema West constituency and Tema Manhean in the Tema East constituency to round off the party's campaign in Tema for the December 7 general election.
She said it is only the NDC government that has the master plan for the development of this country, adding that it has built 6,000 more primary schools with 2.3 million children in school compared to 700,000 before 1982.
The NDC government has also increased the number of polytechnics from three to nine and its student population has increased from 1,5000 to 12,000, with university intake rising from 1,800 to 31,000.
Nana Konadu said between 1934 and 1982, the country had only 202 health institutions but the NDC government has increased these to 860 because it cares about the health needs of the people.
In addition, 195 hospitals, clinics and health centres built several years ago have also been rehabilitated.
Nana Konadu said before 1982, only 16 per cent of Ghanaians had good drinking water but this has shot up to 70 per cent and expressed the hope that by the year 2010, every Ghanaian would have good drinking water.
Nana Konadu said before 1982 only 20 per cent of the country had electricity with 10 per cent connected to the national grid while the remaining 10 per cent used generators.
"Today, 90 per cent of the country has electricity and we are not ending there."
On unemployment, which is being used by the opposition parties for their campaign against the NDC, the First Lady said even in developed countries, there is some level of unemployment and that any opposition party, which says it will end unemployment is lying. Nana Konadu said continuity in government is vital for the development of a country and cited the case of Malaysia, which together with Ghana had independence in 1957.
"Malaysia has developed fast because it has had one party in power with two heads of state since independence even though there are opposition parties." She advised Ghanaians not to follow the NPP since it has nothing to offer them.
Mrs. Sherry Ayittey, National Executive member of the NDC, denounced the manner the opposition was misinforming the public about the "Cash and Carry" health policy, and explained that the system does not apply to emergency cases.
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No special voting for polling agents - EC
Tamale (Northern Region) 05 December 2000
Mrs. Faith Amedzake, Tamale Municipal Electoral Officer, said on Monday that the Electoral Commission does not and will not organise special voting for political party polling gents.
Speaking to the GNA on phone in Tamale, Mrs. Amedzake said the political parties are expected to choose their agents from the electoral area and not from a different place.
She said she was not aware that some political parties would have to get people from elsewhere to be their polling agents.
Mrs. Amedzake said no political party had ever complained to the EC, adding that if the issue had been brought forward, it would have been resolved at the Inter-party Advisory Committee meeting.
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