Live above reproach or else — Ayariga warns EC
Disqualified presidential hopeful and flag-bearer of the All People’s Congress (APC), Mr Hassan Ayariga, has tasked the electorate to disregard the recent announcement by the Electoral Commission (EC) that he (Ayariga) is among the list of disqualified presidential candidates.
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“I have not stoppped campaigning, never; and we will demonstrate that we are determined to win the elections, so don’t be discouraged, we will fight this to the end,” Mr Ayariga told supporters at the party’s campaign launch at Ashaiman, near Tema.
The APC will also ensure the 2016 election is annulled should it be found that electoral officers made errors on the election tally sheets, popularly known as pink sheets, Mr Ayariga warned.
According to him, if the EC cannot accept mistakes made by presidential aspirants on the presidential nomination forms, the body ought to live above reproach and ensure its processes and documentations are error free.
“In an unlikely event that a Presiding Officer of the EC makes any mistake by failing to sign any documents pertaining to the elections, as well as ensuring that figures tally accurately, the APC will make sure the entire election results would be annulled,” he declared at the launch of the Ashaiman Constituency campaign of the party on Saturday.
The party’s parliamentary candidates for Ashaiman, Mr Musah Yakubu; Odododiodoo, Mr Jonathan Mitchel Heward Mills, and Ningo Prampram, Mr Richard Angmor Nartey (all in the Greater Accra Region) and Mr Jonathan Lartey for the Akan Constituency in the Volta Region were introduced to the gathering.
He stated that the party had taken a cue from the EC and would monitor the 2016 elections closely to ensure incidents of unsigned pink sheets and wrong figures which were recorded in 2012 did not recur.
“Our position is that the if EC cannot accept the mistakes of others and correct them, when they (EC) also make a mistake, we will also make sure that the whole election results would be cancelled and a rerun done,” Mr Ayariga stressed.
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The APC, he said, had worked very hard and established 240 offices across the country in line with EC’s provisions.
“Why will the EC deny the 432 people that endorsed the APC’s presidential nomination form the right to have a presidential candidate?” Mr Ayariga fumed.
“Is democracy not about people being given the opportunity to elect their leaders? The APC will contest the elections, since we believe we have done the right thing by satisfying the constitutional requirements as well as the EC’s demands,” he pointed out.
Intensified campaign
The APC presidential hopeful, who was disqualified alongside 11 others, for failing to complete their nominations forms correctly, said he would resort to the court to ensure he was included in the list of aspirants contesting the 2016 presidential election.
Humour
The campaign launch was characterised by drama, as the programme gave the media, police and patrons something to laugh about.
The programme, that was to start at 10 a.m., started late as party officials only began mounting a podium at the venue about 2:25 p.m.
Scores of media practitioners from Accra and Tema that turned up at the venue in anticipation of a gargantuan launch were left disappointed as party supporters failed to turn up.
A handful of party faithful only trickled in to the campaign grounds around 4:30 p.m. after a broadcast van of the party had gone round the municipality to announce the campaign launch.
The few constituency and national executives of the party were thus prompted to distribute T-shirts and other party paraphernalia to traders, hawkers, passers-by and commercial motorbike (okada) operators around the Mandela Park to enable them to gather at the park to be addressed by Mr Ayariga and the parliamentary aspirants.
Not even a float through the principal streets of Ashaiman by Mr Ayariga in his V8 vehicle Toyota vehicle, accompanied by his vice presidential candidate and other officials waving at people, could pull the numbers for the party.
Mr Ayariga finally made a “triumphant entry” to the park at 5:25 p.m. He combined his message delivery with intermittent dances which made many either stare in awe or just laugh at some of his pronouncements and dance moves.
Scores of children around the vicinity who also trooped to the park to catch a glimpse of the APC leader could not help but join him to dance to hiplife musician Shatta Wale’s Ka kai song.
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Throwing punches at the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flag bearer, Nana Akufo-Addo; Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Mr Ayariga said the two who had served in the previous NPP government under President John Kufuor were not fit to lead the country.
He wondered why the NPP candidate was espousing a one district, one factory policy, knowing such a policy was not feasible.
“We need change, but not from NDC to NPP. Ghana is not a football match where the NDC and NPP will continue to play home and away matches, with the electorates being at the centre of such games,” Mr Ayariga stressed.