Politics of Tuesday, 29 May 2007

Source: GNA

Do not sow seeds for "skirt and blouse"

WA, May 29, GNA - A New Patriotic Party parliamentary aspirant for the Wa Central constituency has urged his fellow aspirants and their supporters not to use any indecent language or any negative campaign tactics that could polarize the party and lead to a voting pattern that would undermine the party chances in the next general elections.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Wa on Monday the aspirant, Mr Abdullah Bin Salih, who is the Upper West Regional Director of the Non-formal Education Division of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports said the seat has since the inception of the Fourth republic being in the hands of the National Democratic Congress and it would require a unified force to fight for and win it from NDC.

He therefore cautioned members against the "skirt and blouse" voting pattern, adding, "Castigating and insulting one another for the sake of getting the nod would eventually be like handing over ammunition to our opponents to use against whoever will emerge as winner and this will not be good for the electoral fortunes of such a candidate and the party."

Mr Bin Salih who is also the Assembly member for the Dondoli Electoral Area in the Wa Municipal Assembly, said he had mapped out strategies to counteract the campaign tricks and rhetoric that the NDC often used to win the seat and assured the NPP delegates that he would win the seat if given the nod.

According to him, he implemented some of these strategies during the last District Level Elections and that propelled him to win the Dondoli seat at the Municipal Assembly that was previously occupied by people who were sympathetic to the NDC cause.

He said he had done enough to enhance his image and that of the party to grab the parliamentary seat using projects he had initiated in just one year as an assembly member, as his trump card.

These include the provision of street lights for his electoral area at a total cost of seven point seven (7.7) million cedis through his own resources and spearheaded the construction of access roads, a clinic and worked out plans to provide the communities in the area with five boreholes.

"These are just a few of the things I have already done for my electoral area in just a little over a year as assembly man to kindle the confidence of the people in me and I assure them that I will be a very good Member of Parliament".