A senior lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Dr. Ransford Gyampo has advised the Convention People’s Party (CPP) to put its house in order to win presidential elections.
He suggests that even if the founder of the party and Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, came back to life to lead party in the current divisive state the party will not win presidential elections.
Dr. Gyampo who is also a Fellow at the Governance Unit of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) was speaking Monday on Adom FM’s “Burning Issues” programme with Afia Pokua.
He says the party must come together and pursue the dream of winning power at the polls on November 7.
Dr. Gyampo also notes that CPP, the People’s National Convention (PNC) and other smaller parties with Nkrumah’s vision and ideology must come together as a strong force to make some difference in the upcoming polls.
Last Saturday, former General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Ivor Greenstreet was elected as the flagbearer of the party for the general elections in November.
Greenstreet fended off competition from Samia Nkrumah, daughter of Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah who had been widely tipped to emerge victorious.
Greenstreet polled 1,288 votes cast representing 64.7% which saw him beat Samia’s total votes of 578 representing about 29% of valid votes.
Joseph Agyapong and Bright Akwetey polled less than 10% of the votes combined, picking up 82 and 44 votes respectively.
After losing the Saturday presidential primaries, Samia Nkrumah accused Greenstreet of bribing delegates with GHC200.00, an allegation the flagbearer has denied.
The party’s Chairman Prof. Edmund Delle has advised Samia Nkrumah to apologise to the party’s newly elected presidential candidate for accusing him of bribery.
The party has over the years has been battling to recapture power after the demised of Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah due to infighting and misunderstanding among its members.
In 2011, the former Convention People’s Party’s 2008 presidential candidate, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, quit the party to form the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and contested as the flagberear in the 2012 general elections.
His resignation from the party brought division among party leadership and its member which affected the party performance in the 2012 general elections.
Dr. Abu Sakara Foster who led the party in the 2012 general elections also quit the party recently to contest as an Independent Candidate.
The 2012 former party’s flag bearer in a statement from his office on January 5, announced his resignation from the party saying: “I wish to announce to my fellow compatriots that I will contest as an independent Presidential Candidate in the 2016 general election.”
Prof Edmund Delle has said he will bring the party’s resigned former presidential candidate Dr Abu Sakara Foster back into the party.
But Dr. Ransford Gyampo has advised the party leadership and defeated aspirants to support the newly leader ahead of the November 7 polls.
He noted that without unity and support from the smaller parties, it will be very difficult for the CPP to become a credible third force to push the upcoming elections into a re-run.
Source-myjoyonline.com
