Learn to celebrate with losers .....Osei Yeboah advises presidential candidates)

Mr Osei Yeboah was speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday.

He said his motivation for entering the presidential race was to win political office and use it to unite Ghanaians for authentic co-existence, development and lasting peace.

According to Mr Osei Yeboah, partisan politics was not good for the country because Ghanaians were too emotional.

He urged fellow flag bearers to accept the outcome of the election and accept the defeat honourably. “There is no need to send signals of protesting or contesting the results and we must all do well to prevent violence.”

He also advised winners to share their joy with those who contested and do away with the winner takes all system, stressing that the only way to do away with partisan politics was through the independent candidate system.

Giving his impressions about the political discourse in the country, Mr Osei Yeboah described the system as hypocritical and vicious, especially looking at the secret tapes of voices of prominent politicians.

“What is planned secretly is vicious and evil,” he said and added that such activities were not political because Ghana had seen the fruits of such actions.

He said it was because of such developments that the country needed to re-establish a new emerging Ghana with a new democratic construct of the independent presidential system as the only alternative to the political party system.

Touching on his chances in the December elections, Mr Osei Yeboah said he had targeted to obtain 36 per cent votes in the first round and increase his votes to 72 per cent in the second round.

He said if there was no second round, then he would garner about 72 per cent of the total votes to be cast. It will be a one touch victory, he said, adding that if the electorate voted for him, they would be restoring the dignity of their traditional and religious leaders because he represented the interest of the religious and traditional leaders.

Mr Osei Yeboah stressed that the end of the Johns to clear the way for the real actors had come to an end.

He said he was very well prepared for the December elections and that his strategy had been to send messages to the traditional and religious leaders and the communities through the traditional and modern mass media channels.

He described his campaign strategy as very effective and because many Ghanaians were yearning for peace, he positioned himself as a peace maker for election 2012, which agenda he had pursued excellently because he and his team’s focus had been to actually uniting the nation through a unity government for development and authentic co-existence. He said his message had been well received by the electorate because Ghanaians were fed up with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP)

“This election is about our lives and not for a particular party or candidate and I urge the electorate to vote and ensure that their lives go beyond 2012.”

Mr Osei Yeboah said peace could be likened to a candle, which must be handled with care.

“If you position the candle at a good place, it drives away darkness, fear and apprehension and helps the occupant of the room to see clearly,” he stressed.

He likened the room to the nation, with an ambience of romance for those in the room to enjoy.

Similarly, he said, if the candle was put on a mattress, it could burn the mattress and the occupant of the room and urged Ghanaians to decide on Friday where to pitch the candle.

Story by Boniface Ablekpe