Politics of Thursday, 15 September 2016

Source: 3news.com

NDC declares ‘Operation Win All Seats’ in Northern region

Some NDC members at the Operation Win All Seats campaign Some NDC members at the Operation Win All Seats campaign

The Northern Regional Campaign Team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has declared an ‘Operation Win All Seats’ in the Northern Region.

To achieve this feat, the team is calling for a united front and a coordinated effort to canvass for massive votes to ensure a resounding victory for the party.

The team also revealed it will win 60 per cent of the total votes in the Region for President John Dramani Mahama. The Northern Region has 31 parliamentary seats. The NDC currently occupies 20 seats while the New Patriotic Party (NPP) occupies nine seats.

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) occupies one seat and there is one independent candidate.

NDC on Wednesday indicated that it will recapture all the lost seats. The Northern Regional Campaign Coordinator, Alhaji Limuna Muniru, blamed the loss of some seven seats that hitherto belonged to the National Democratic Congress to disunity, lack of coordination and inadequate resources.

He has therefore charged team members and supporters to desist from allowing themselves to be manipulated by the falsehood from the NPP and win back the seven seats with an additional four that have been for the largest opposition party.

“By our actions, we relinquished seven seats to the New Patriotic Party in 2012 with some internal wrangling but we are more united now and we will take back those seats in 2016,” he said. “There have been some reconciliation and each member now is more involved than before.”

Speaking at the inauguration of the Constituency Campaign Task Force Team by the Regional Campaign Team in Tamale, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru indicated that he is no failure and his task as the campaign coordinator will not witness any failure.

“I have never failed in life and I am going to deliver all thirty-one seats in the region to the National Democratic Congress and ensure sixty per cent for John Dramani Mahama,” Alhaji Limuna Muniru added.

The NPP has declared winning twenty-five seats in the Northern Region. But the NDC has cautioned its arch-rivals it is aware of disunity being the cause of those seats slipping from their hands and will not negotiate with the NPP on those seats.

“We have realized our mistakes, worked to resolve it and we are coming back stronger than before so the New Patriotic Party should rethink on their targeted twenty seats”.

The National Campaign Coordinator, Kofi Adams, who was present at the inauguration, urged parliamentary candidates and party executives to have sober reflections and devise means to win back the lost seats.

Mr Adams cautioned the team to guard against the skirt-and-blouse voting pattern which he says can hinder passage of bills in parliament in the future and stated the New Patriotic Party is never an alternative government for Ghana.

“Winning more parliamentary seats will ensure a smooth passage of bills by the president in future and implementing policies will not face challenges since he has the bigger representation”.

The Parliamentary Candidate for the Walewale Constituency and the Northern Regional Minister, Abdulah Abubakar, encouraged team members to be strategic in communicating to electorates by showing them the differences between the NDC and the NPP which he says when the NDC is strategizing on how to move Ghana forward, the NPP is busily organizing demonstrations and press conference to channel falsehood to electorates.

He added that their opponents are sleeping and the NDC cannot afford to join in the slumber. He therefore called on members swear to deliver the eleven seats currently occupied by the NPP to the NDC in 2016 elections. The campaign team will not assume the role of the regional campaign team but to complement the efforts of the executives towards achieving one goal.