Mr Yaw Mort, Upper East Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Thursday said the party had gained stronger grounds in the region more than ever before, as more and more residents of the area join it.

He said the party’s new patrons and new comers either defected from other parties especially the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to join the NPP, or were interested in the NPP because of its record of honestly managing the nation's economy.

He said the Nabdam and Talensi constituencies for instance had both fallen to the NPP as the youth, elderly and women had embraced Nana Addo, Mr Boniface Gambilla and Mr Robert Mosori Doameng, NPP Presidential and Parliamentary candidates respectively.

Mr Mort said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga and indicated that fear had now gripped the NDC which hitherto had dominated the Region in terms of votes and said the dwindling fortunes of the NDC in those two constituencies was manifested in President John Mahama’s visit where the NDC failed to impress on the people.

He noted that other constituencies such the Bolgatanga Central and Bolgatanga East were a foregone conclusion in favour of the NPP, and said: “For the Bawku Central, the NDC is so desperate that it is taking advantage of the peace that the people have forged in that area to intimidate NPP supporters which our members would not barge”.

Mr Mort said for the Navrongo and Paga seats which were currently occupied by the NPP, the NDC was desperately fighting a lost battle there and had, therefore, allegedly resorted to sharing money and laptops to attract votes with the hope that it would turn their fortunes around.

The Regional Secretary expressed dismay about the NDC's strategy of sharing money and laptops and said, “They better keep the money to account for their stewardship because they will surely lose this election and will definitely account for misuse of the country’s funds”.

Mr Mort urged all NPP sympathizers and people in other parties who believed in the ideals of the NPP, especially its free SHS policy, to come out on election day and vote massively for the NPP.

He said an attempt to retain the NDC in power would see a completely damaged economy in the first quarter of the year 2013, adding “When you have people in power whose objective is to steal the country’s wealth for themselves at the expense of the ordinary people, it is the national purse that would be emptied and the people would have to suffer it”.

He further called on NPP supporters not to be disheartened by the sharing of gifts by the NDC or be daunted if on polling day people resort to acts of intimidation, and advised them to report any such behaviour to the police for action.