Making the headlines today in most of the newspapers is news about the Convention People's Party's national delegates' congress. At the party's national delegates congress at the Essipong Stadium in Sekondi, Dr. Sakara an agronomist, polled 1,130 votes ,representing 55.2 per cent of the votes cast, as against 917 or 44.8 per cent obtained by his only contestant, Mr. Bright Oblitei Akwetey,an Accra based legal practitioner and former presidential aspirant. The Daily Graphic with the headline Dr. Abu Sakara elected CPP flag bearer, adds that the 2008 Vice-presidential candidate of the Convention People's Party (CPP), Dr. Abu Sakara Foster ,was on Saturday elected the flag bearer of the party for the 2012 presidential election. The heritage adopts a similar headline, thus, Dr. Sakara is CPP flag bearer for Election 2012 in reporting the story. While the New Statesman uses the headline Abu Sakara wins CPP presidential nomination, the Chronicle in its caption Sakara wins CPP slot adds that after close to thirteen hours, the curtains of the delegates Congress of the Convention People's Party (CPP) were drawn at the Essipong Stadium on Saturday, with the son of Gonjaland, Dr. Foster Abu Sakara, winning the presidential slot of the party, after overcoming Bright Akwetey's threat. The Daily Guide, with the same headline as the Crusading Guide and the Ghanaian Times "Abu Sakara leads CPP", also adds that he said if given the nod in the 2012 elections, he would focus on human –centered development that would not be compromised for the benefit of a few at the expense of the masses.
Still on the CPP, and this time with the PNC, we are told from the Daily Graphic that Mr. Bernard Mornah, General Secretary of the People's National Convention PNC, last Saturday described the proposed merger between the Convention People's Party (CPP) and the Peoples National Convention (PNC) as the best yardstick to unite the Nkrumaist front. He further noted that CPP and PNC merger is the uniting force for Nkrumaists.
In related news from The Chronicle, we are informed that Mr. Bright Akwetey, a Conventional People's Party (CPP) Presidential Aspirant, has said the merger with the People's National Convention would boost the electoral fortunes of the two parties in the forthcoming elections. The paper states this in the headline merging CPP, PNC will improve the electoral fortunes, and added that he said both parties believed in the same ideology and he is prepared to work with them when elected as Presidential candidate for the party adding that he preferred that the two parties would have a common Presidential candidate for the coming elections.
On the need to maintain peace during the elections, politicians, peace loving Ghanaians and the media have been called upon to continue to strive to nurture, grow and develop peace and unity in order to build a strong nation for the generations yet unborn to inherit. The Ghanaian observer under the banner political Parties asked to smoke peace pipe that speaking to journalists in Accra, Nathaniel Ebo Nsarko, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pro=Image Communications, said it will be shameful and a mark of irresponsibility on the part of the present day generations if we fail to bequeath to the next generation a happier and a united Ghana.
Again, Ghanaians have been assured that security agencies are ready to protect national peace. Lieutenant General Peter Augustine Blay, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), has given assurance of the readiness of the security agencies to protect peace before, during and after the December 7 polls. The Ghanaian Observer in reporting this adds that he said the security agencies would remain alert and professional in the performance of their duties to provide security for all Ghanaians.
Also in the Daily Graphic, we are told that Pulpit for peace project launched. The Tema Diocese of the Methodist Church of Ghana has held its 15th Synod at Tema with a call for peace in the coming general elections in December 2012. The Church has accordingly launched "the pulpit for peace" project at Tema to ensure peaceful co-existence before and after the elections.
The Crusading Guide finally quotes in the heading the greatest gift we want for mothers' day is peace- Queen Mothers that as Ghana joins the world to celebrate Mothers Day, Queen mothers say the biggest gift Ghanaians can give mothers is peace before, during and after the December elections. The day is set aside to honour mothers worldwide for their selfless and indispensable role in the family and nation building.
From the Ghanaian Times, we learn that CDS assures of soldiers readiness to ensure peace. Lieutenant General Peter Augustine Blay, the chief of Defense Staff (CDS), has given assurance of the security agencies readiness to ensure peace before, during and after the December 7 polls. He said the security agencies would remain alert and professional in the performance of their duties to provide security for all Ghanaians.
The Daily Dispatch brings to our notice that the Biometric registration is to be extended for two days and adds that there are credible indications that the Electoral Commission (EC) will extend a further two- day in some districts in the nine of the 10 regions. Directors from all the regions, except the Brong Ahafo, as at press time, will not have any extension. According to the paper, an analysis of the 2008 voter population figures as against provisional figures of the 2012 biometric voter population indicates that the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions increased by a total of about 510,000 voters.
The New Statesman also indicates that E/R registers 1.4 million people under biometric registration. A total of 1.433.054 people were registered in the just-ended biometric voters registration exercise in the Eastern region against the estimated figure of 1,447,149.The Deputy Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, Osei Bonsu, disclosed this at the Eastern Regional Coordinating council meeting in Koforidua on Friday.
Away from that, we move on to the 'hope tour' by the NPP presidential and vice presidential candidate. The Daily Graphic on this reports that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate for this year's elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has predicted that the NPP will be victorious at the elections with him as the next president of the Republic of Ghana. That, according to him, was due to the abysmal performance of the National Democratic Congress administration led by President J.E.A Mills that had made prices of goods and services to rise astronomically while majority of the people wallowed in poverty.
The heritage reports this under the headline Nana Addo and Dr. Bawumia electrify Eastern Region, adding that the 2012 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo Addo and his running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Saturday, brought all commercial activities to a halt when they took the NPP's 'hope tour' to the Eastern Region.
With the headline Nana, Bawumia rock Eastern Region the Daily Guide further reports that Nana Akufo-Addo was accompanied by his campaign manager, Boakye Agyarko; operations director, Lord Commey, former finance Minister, was Osafo-Maafo; regional executive members of the party ,member of parliament for Abuakwa South Samuel Atta Akyea and member of Parliament for Abuakwa north ,Prof.Samuel Amoako as well as the new NPP Parliamentary candidate for Abuakwa North ,J.B Danquah Adu.
Updates on the former first lady's claim of ownership of the NDC logo reveal that NDC is in disarray. The threat by the former first lady to take back the logo of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) if the party does not revert to the ideals of probity and accountability espoused by her husband, Jerry John Rawlings, has left Akatamansonians in disarray. The Chronicle adds that while some party bigwigs are finding it very difficult to grapple with the reality of the issue, others are contending it, claiming that the logo was the collective handiwork of grassroots members who had the party at heart.
The Chronicle however notes that the ownership claim of the Akatamanso (Umbrella) symbol of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) by former first Lady Konadu Agyeman Rawlings has been rubbished by senior cadre of the December 31 revolution. With the headline Akatamanso belongs to NDC, the paper indicates that Nana Konadu Agyeman is alleged to have threatened to withdraw the party's logo registered with the Electoral Commission (EC), because she holds the intellectual property or copyright of the logo, and that intellectual property rights in the said symbol were duly registered on April 12, 2012, under the Copyright Act (2005), Act 690.
Still on this, the Daily Guide with the caption Mills boys slap Konadu on page 3 adds that former first Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings' decision to claim ownership of the umbrella symbol of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) seems to have instantly made her the number one enemy of the ruling party, as the party's communication team members loyal to President Atta Mills have suddenly turned her into punching bag, attacking her personality on a daily basis. Barely a day after NDC general Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia described the content of Nana Konadu's letter to the party as not making any sense, other party members ,mostly radio panelists, have also subjected the former First Lady to a barrage of insults.
NDC advised to design a new party logo is how The New Statesman reports that the ruling National Democratic Congress has been advised to take immediate steps to design a new party logo and begin a nationwide publicity in that regard to its members. This comes in the wake of threats by wife of the party founder, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings; to withdraw the "Akatamanso" logo which she claims is her intellectual property. A member of the NDC 'S legal team ,Abraham Amaliba, who gave the advice on Citi Fm's news analysis program 'The Big Issue' stated that should the party fail to take these steps ,it could go into the 2012 election without the "akatamanso" symbol.
The Daily Graphic brings to our notice that Ketu South NDC to go for primaries and adds that the National Democratic Congress has scheduled the parliamentary primaries of Ketu South in the Volta Region for Saturday, 26th May 2012 at Denu, the constitutional capital. The NDC primary in the Ketu South Constituency was put on hold in anticipation of a split of the constituency into two separate ones.
We end the today's news review with the New Crusading Guide's report that NDC most guilty of indecent language. Officials and supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress have for the first time topped the latest report by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) on the use of "indecent language" on radio. According to MFWA, the latest report is an improvement on previous monitoring since it recorded only nine indecent expressions used during the week.
This daily news review is compiled by African Elections Project (AEP) Media Monitoring Centre, Accra, Ghana.
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