General News of Thursday, 21 August 2008

Source: Isaac Essel

NPP seize hotels in Central Region

Even though the New Patriotic Party is yet to hit the Central Region today Thursday to begin a second round of campaign in the region, the party has allegedly booked all the major hotels in the region, depriving other political parties already in the region sleeping places.

Koku Anyidoho, Communications Director of the Atta Mills campaign team, who confirmed this to Citi FM on Thursday, said his party had been struggling to get decent hotels to pass the night.

He, however, said the party is not bothered much about the situation because it focusing on its core business of winning votes.

Koku Anyidoho said, "We are soldiers," and explained that their purpose of storming Central Region for the third time in less than two months "is not about sleeping, it is about winning the battle and strategizing very much and winning the battle".

He said the situation had also affected the party's presidential candidate, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, who spends the night at his family house.

Political scientists have predicted that the Central Region could be the decider in the 2008 general elections.

Political parties contesting this year's elections are therefore not taking chances in the region, and are turning the region into a battle ground.

Moreover, spokespersons of the two main political parties, NPP and NDC, said the presence of the other is not deterrent at all to their fortunes in the region.

The NPP is holding 16 of the 19 parliamentary seats in the region.

The NDC which has only two seats hopes to take a number of those seats from the ruling party.

The Convention People's Party has just one seat, occupied by its presidential candidate, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom.