Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr, Editor-in-Chief at Large of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, has suggested to the Convention People’s Party (CPP) to desist from fielding a presidential candidate in general elections.
Speaking to Asaase News on the performance of smaller parties in the just ended 7 December elections, Baako Jnr advised the CPP to concentrate its resources on fielding parliamentary candidates only.
“The leadership should focus and forget the presidential slot. Look, when the CPP was represented in Parliament it was through the Great Alliance project. We collaborated with the New Patriotic Party (NPP),” he said.
He added: “We had five seats, then some of the leaders began to make noise then the subsequent ones reduced to three, then one, now zero, my goodness.”
Baako Jnr revealed that he voted for the People’s National Convention (PNC) on 7 December because the CPP could not field a parliamentary candidate at his constituency, describing it as “very sad”.
He believes the CPP currently lacks the type of leadership and financial strength to contest for both presidential and parliamentary elections.
The CPP Flagbearer, Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, polled 6,691 votes representing 0.05% in the just ended 7 December general polls.
Childish and ridiculous campaign
Last month, political activist Sekou Nkrumah described the campaign style of the Convention People’s Party as “childish and ridiculous”.
He was responding to a viral video on social media in which Greenstreet is seen leading CPP supporters to chant “Electric Shock”, meaning that the party will shock the two leading political parties – the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) – on 7 December.
“I have listened to Mr Greenstreet very carefully. I have also monitored social media. Their campaign style is unfortunately ridiculous and very childish, and the fact of the matter is that, if anybody needs an electric shock then it is the CPP leadership,” he said.
Nkrumah added: “They need a reality check. They need to come to terms with the fact that in today’s Ghana there are two political parties that dominate – the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). The fact of the matter is that the CPP today is not going anywhere: it is not a vehicle of political relevance.”
Fred Dzakpata
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