Monday, 17th May: - If there was any doubt about Nana Akufo-Addo’s popularity in the main opposition party, then this cleared it. Subin on Sunday sent a clear message to the party and country, at large, where lies the overwhelming sentiment of the New Patriotic Party.
The filled-to-capacity atmosphere at the Owner Services Auditorium, Subin, Kumasi, was charged with positive excitement on Sunday, May 16, when Nana Akufo-Addo met with Subin delegates to tell his message of hope for victory 2012 to them.
“This is a big shock. We knew Nana was popular among polling station executives in this constituency. But, this is beyond our widest expectation,” Nana Yaw Osafo-Maafo, a member of Nana Akufo-Addo’s Victory 2012 campaign team, said after witnessing the ground swell of support his candidate received at Subin on Sunday.
Nana Akufo-Addo, who is competing for re-election as the presidential candidate of the NPP, also expressed a similar surprise and thanked the delegates for keeping faith with him.
Mr. Isaac Osei is the Member of Parliament for Subin and was thought to have the overwhelming support of his constituency delegates. Mr. Osei is one of five aspirants competing for the 2012 presidential nomination of the New Patriotic Party.
With the Subin constituency chairman, Alhaji Baba Wala, being a leading member of Mr. Osei’s campaign team, and news that most of the 16 constituency officers were in support of their MP’s presidential bid, what was not known was the allegiance of the 485 polling station executives, representing all 97 polling station areas and the 10 electoral area coordinators.
But, on Sunday, the overwhelming majority of the delegates spoke boldly and they spoke in favour of Nana Akufo-Addo.
Sloganeering in twi, they shouted “the one who toils is the one who must reap,” referring to Nana Akufo-Addo’s enduring contribution to the fortunes of the party from its conception.
The resounding message was that, by winning the confidence of 49.77% of the Ghanaian electorate in 2008, Nana Akufo-Addo represents the best hope for the NPP to change the trend of two four-year-terms for a sitting president.
One delegate said they will be electing on August 7, the candidate who has the best chance of winning in 2012, “not one who wants to use 2012 as a launching pad for 2016.”
The delegates said they were aware that while their MP was among those who openly campaigned against the expansion of the electoral college in 2009, Nana Akufo-Addo was the only known presidential aspirant, among the five, who went all out to push for the expansion.
“Unlike the past where only 10 constituency officers and members would pocket some big money and decide who to lead us, today, all of us polling station officers have the vote,” said one Subin delegate, K Agyemang.
“Those who thought we were not good enough to vote now thinks our vote is good enough for them. We shall see!” he added.
The delegates were determined to make it clear to Nana Akufo-Addo that Subin was more than a ‘go-area’ for him.
One delegate screamed to a loud echo of approval from the audience, “the results from Subin on August 7 will tell you we are all for you!”
The NPP will choose its 2012 flagbearer on Aug 7, 2010. The elections will take place simultaneously at 230 centres in all 230 constituencies across the country. The ballots will be counted and results declared at the constituency polling centres.
In a very short and powerful message, Nana Akufo-Addo asked delegates to vote for the name that is on the lips and minds of all Ghanaians today, whether in the market places, households, on the streets or workplaces.
“Some of us campaigned vigorously for polling station executives to have the vote because we know you are the men and women who do the actual door-to-door campaign and who on election day will get our people out to vote,” Nana Akufo-Addo explained.
“We are also aware that you have day-to-day interactions with members of your various communities. You hear what they are saying. You know who they want. So we want you to be the main decision-makers on who you think you can sell the easiest if elected as your presidential candidate,” he said.
Nana Akufo-Addo tasked polling station executives to make good use of the power that has been given them, because “if today, the Ghanaian people are looking up to the NPP to come and salvage our country from the pain and hardships, then they are looking up to you the polling station executives of our party to choose the candidate who can lead you to victory.”
He added, “the larger responsibility of bringing the NPP back into power in 2012 lies on you. For our part, we will do what we have to do, including giving you the resources to do your work effectively.”
The atmosphere in Mr. Isaac Osei’s constituency was not only vibrant but peaceful. He is the only candidate who is a sitting MP. Nana Akufo-Addo, with a 12-year background as an MP, is the only other candidate with any parliamentary experience.
Minority Leader, Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, who was in Kumasi at the weekend, expressed the desirability of political parties nominating presidential candidates who have had experience as a legislature or of an elected office holder, as has become the norm in America.
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