Kunbumgu (N/R), Nov. 12, GNA - Mr Prince Imoro Andani, New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for the Kunbumgu Constituency, on Thursday called on the people of Dagbon to put the past behind them and unite to confront poverty and deprivation in the area. He said: "It is time to unite as a people and do away with chieftaincy and ethnic disputes and pursue policies that would help to develop our communities and improve the living conditions of the people."

Mr Andani, former Northern Regional Minister, was speaking at a forum organised for the various parliamentary candidates in the constituency to share their views and visions with the electorate at Kunbumgu.

The programme was organised by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD) with support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and the USAID.

The forum was aimed at giving the candidates the opportunity to tell the electorate how they would tackle problems facing the people in the Constituency if elected as Members of Parliament.

It was also to enable the electorate to assess the candidates and make informed choices during the elections.

Candidates from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Convention People's Party (CPP) and NPP, who attended the forum, answered questions on HIV/AIDS, the Domestic Violence Bill, poverty alleviation and the decentralization process.

Mr Andani said he would use part of the Member of Parliament's (MP) share of the District Assemblies' Common Fund to support HIV/AIDS programmes and promote the rights and development of women and children if he won in election 2004.

He appealed to the people to live in peace and harmony and urged politicians to conduct their electioneering campaigns decently to ensure peaceful elections.

Mr Andani also urged the electorates to elect competent people as leaders in the polls.

Mr Alhaji Imoro Yakubu, the NDC candidate, said he would promote health, education, agriculture, transportation and women's welfare to facilitate the development of the area if elected as MP.

He said he would establish a taskforce in all the wards in the constituency to tackle the HIV/AIDS menace.

Mr Mohammed Imoro, the CPP candidate, pledged to promote agriculture, the welfare of women, children, particularly the girl-child.

Miss Nansta Yakubu, Coordinator of the forum, said she would encourage the candidates to focus their campaigns on issues instead of personalities.