THE Convention People’s Party (CPP) on Sunday held a mammoth rally at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, during which the running mate of the party’s flag bearer for Election 2008, Dr Abu Foster Sakara, was introduced to the large gathering.
One of the highlights of the rally, which coincided with the 99th birthday of the founder of the party and first President of Ghana, the late Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, was the national launch of the campaign for Election 2008.
The atmosphere at the rally depicted a party very determined not only to make an impact in the December elections but also recapture political power and reclaim its past glory.
What made the rally unique was that it attracted thousands of people from all walks of life, including the elderly, the physically challenged, exuberant youth and die-hard supporters.
The daughter of Dr Nkrumah, Ms Samia Nkrumah, and children of former ministers in the CPP administration were not left out in the rally which was dubbed, “New Dawn, New Vision”.
Many people the Daily Graphic spoke to were unanimous in declaring how they had been inspired by the party’s new fortunes which had seen it grow from strength to strength, in spite of the many political impediments in its path.
They cited the reconstruction of the Flagstaff House where the first President conducted the affairs of state as symbolic because it demonstrated that the next administration would come from the CPP.
They opined that since Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday fell on a Sunday and this year’s elections were also being held on a Sunday, it signified that the CPP was destined to win political power from the ruling party.
Mr B.K. Senkyere, a veteran CPP organiser, said any development which did not take the welfare of the people into consideration was bound to fail.
He expressed regret that apart from the Nkrumah’s government, all other governments had failed to put in place people-centred development policies that would help with national growth.
The result, he said, was that the people who were supposed to benefit from those developments were made poorer.
Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso, the CPP spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, noted that education and the national economy were now running parallel to each other, noting that during Nkrumah’s era the two were in tandem, complementing each other.
He called on the media to refrain from portraying the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as the only parties in the country, at the expense of other political parties.
Dr Antwi-Danso said Ghanaians should vote for a peaceful party, saying the violence in Tamale and Gushiegu were not helpful for the unity of the nation.
He said when the CPP gained power, “we shall bring the country together by working genuinely to ensure peace, harmony and development”.
Ms Nkrumah said the CPP seed sown by her father had reached fruition with the reorganisation of the party, adding that the vision and teachings of Dr Nkrumah were still relevant and urged the activists of the party to work hard to enable the CPP to come back to political power to complete its social programmes, without which development was meaningless.
In a speech read on his behalf, Prof Agyeman Badu Akosa, a leading member of the party, urged the government to defreeze the assets of the CPP which were frozen when Nkrumah was overthrown.
Mr Bright Akwetey, who contested the flag-bearer slot of the party, urged Ghanaians to vote for the CPP, saying that the CPP emblem of a cockerel represented a friendly party.
He said other parties had symbols representing wild animals, adding, “No wonder their behaviour showcases those of rampaging predators without humanity in their actions and programmes.”
Parliamentary candidates and the regional chairmen were introduced to the cheering crowd.
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