Chronicle -- THE FORMER President, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, has stated that the Tuesday by-election victory of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Odododiodoo Constituency in the Greater Accra Region marks the beginning of the end of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the next 2008 general elections.

?The victory is not for you alone. It is a victory for the whole country. This victory clearly marks the beginning of the end of the NPP. This is a true victory and you need to keep up your vigilance and protection in the next 2008 general elections. But if you fail and make the 2004 mistakes which allowed the NPP to rig the elections, they would revisit their rigging attempt in 2008 elections,? he warned.

According to him, though the victory was not only for the NDC but also for the whole country, it was a clear manifestation of the harsh economic policies of the government.

Describing the Kufuor-led administration variously as ?wicked,? ?devilish? and corrupt, among others, the former President urged the supporters of the NDC to keep the vim of vigilance and stand to defend the constitution of Ghana.

Flt. Lt. Rawlings who made these remarks yesterday in his office at Ridge, Accra, when the newly-elected Member of Parliament for Odododiodoo, Hon. Jonathan Nii Tackie-Komme, and his supporters paid him a courtesy call and to render their profound appreciation to him for what they described as his relentless efforts during the campaigns, noted that the rejection of the NPP in the area against the backdrop of electioneering projects, was a demonstration of a victory over ?corruption, lies and devilish activities of the government.?

?You have done the will of the Lord. Your actions represent the true values of truth and principle. This implies that construction of roads and many projects cannot buy them victory.?

Flt. Lt. Rawlings, in an outburst of attacks on President Kufuor for sending the nation into doldrums of abject poverty, he accused the government of destroying the tenets of democracy.

?The culture of democracy which we have established is being thrown overboard. My brothers, there is disquiet in the military, civil sector and many other places because of economic hardships.?

Urging the government to make life favorable for the people, he said it was unfortunate that the pastors and the chiefs could not solve the perception of rift between him and the President.

?They say I have a rift with him but when the pastors and the chiefs came to me and I tabled everything to them, they could not come back because Mr. Kufuor has no answer to the charges I made against him,? he claimed.

Commending the police and the security personnel on duty during the election, the former President urged them to hold in high esteem their work and condemned actions of those he said were not able to live above reproach.

Mr. Rawlings appealed to the Ga people to close their ranks to ensure that their chiefs are not intimidated, harassed and arrested unlawfully, saying, ?United we stand and divided we fall. If there is unity among the Gas the chiefs cannot be arrested by Kufuor?s government and sent to prison. Can President Kufuor arrest Asantehene,? he asked rhetorically, and mentioned the arrest of Kpong Kantamaso Mantse to support his argument.

The former president, who did not mince words, labeled the President a ?tyrant? and a ?corrupt? person.

He condemned the assertions made by President Kufuor to the effect that Hon. E.T Mensah, the NDC MP for Ningo Pramparm, followed him ?sheepishly? and said, ?Look at the words that proceeded from his mouth. Does he expect E.T Mensah to put his hand on his forehead??

Reiterating his outbursts against the Chief Justice, George Kingsley Acquah, and Major General Ayiku, he said, ?We ask the Chief Justice and the Major General Ayiku to defend the constitution but they rather chose to worship the President and when I say, I cannot wait for 2008, they say, I wanted a coup. I don?t want any coup. All that I was saying was that I cannot wait for all the injustices by the government.?

He called on the supporters to stand to defend the constitution, saying ?We must hold on to our vigilance and teach them lesson in 2008. We shall teach them that Ghana is Ghana and we shall not allow the late Eyadema?s and Mobutu?s type of ruling.?

Hon. Jonathan Nii Tackie-Komme, the MP elect, in brief remarks, commended the founder of the party and stated that the victory was in a reaction to economic hardships of the government.

Making reference to the biblical story of the lepers that Jesus Christ healed in the Bible, he echoed the assertion that the wider margin of the party in the just ended election that marks the end of the NPP.

He, in the company of his constituency chairman, Mr. Daniel Okine, and other executives, later presented a parcel to the founder and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings.