Plans are underway for all the smaller political parties together with the independent Presidential Candidates, to emerge and form a strong third force to contest the NPP and the NDC in the coming 2024 general elections.
The move is being facilitated by Roundtable Dialogue (RTD), a social purpose think-tank with the aim of forming a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that embraces all political parties, independent presidential and parliamentary candidates, movements, groups and individuals of good faith, independent of the control of the NPP and the NDC, to present voters with an alternative.
At a media interactions, Dr. Kenneth Ofosu Barko, Secretary for Roundtable Dialogue (RTD) disclosed that, RTD’s aim is to offer the voter only three candidates on each ballot sheet at the time of voting which is made up of theNPP and NDC presidential candidates and the ALTERNATIVE SPV presidential candidate.”The NPP/NDC monopoly, monetisation and corruption of politics must be broken in the national interest, and this is the time”.
Ghana, he indicated is at a crossroads saying, a country that 67 years ago was the shining star of Africa and showed great promise has now been reduced to a land of hewers of wood and drawers of water due to poor administration after the 24th February 1966 coup.
Dr. Kenneth Ofosu Barko
emphasized that for the last 32 years, the country has governed by two political parties, the NPP and the NDC adding that, the two parties have demonstrated for the years spent that they have no vision for the country and instead run it aground.
“Not only have the achievements of our nation from independence through to February 1966 been eroded, but we have witnessed, in the 4th Republic, a mass exodus of trained professionals and all cadres of men and women to foreign lands. What we witness today in this country is the banditry of “create, loot and share” and property-grabbing demoncracy of the ruling NPP and the opposition NDC”.
He averred that the mission of Roundtable Dialogue is to bring like-minded people around the table and encouraged all like-minded people to sit at the Roundtable with them and share their thoughts. “We encourage you to maintain your identity and to bring your ideas and thinking to the table. When spiders unite, they can tie a lion. If you believe in this African proverb, sit with us around the table so we can tie these proverbial lions or Goliaths tormenting the land and set our country free forever from oppressors’ rule as demanded of us by the National Anthem”.
Dr. Ofosu Barko further stated, “Executive Perfidy is oppression. Legislature Perfidy is oppression, and Judiciary perfidy is oppression and likewise, corruption, unemployment, inflation, debt, borrowing, harrowing taxation, high interest rates, impoverishment, underdevelopment and that haunting sense of humiliation that you face every time you wake up in the morning with nothing to look forward to. Yes, the sense of hopelessness you see in the eyes of the youth is oppression, and our National Anthem bids us to resist oppressors’ rule with all our might forevermore”.
He pointed out that to resist and overcome oppressors’ rule, there is the need for one consensus presidential candidate who would contest the 7th December 2024 elections against the NPP/NDC candidates.
Similarly, there should be one consensus parliamentary candidate in all the constituencies to contest against the NDC and NPP candidates. “This is the Roundtable Dialogue’s urgent call to all aspiring candidates independent of the NPP/NDC in the 7th December 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections. The concept and discipline of consensus candidates is not new. In two successive elections, we have put this to the test in South Dayi, and because it works, we have named it the South Dayi Principle. All the smaller parties and independents unite to constitute a united Positive Joint-Action Front by pooling their resources, skills and strengths to win the targeted constituency seat”.
Dr. Barko therefore stretched hands to all genuinely bodies who believes that there must be an ALTERNATIVE to the NPP and NDC, to sit with them at the Roundtable and Dialogue.
The Roundtable Dialogue he explain, exemplifies the ethos of TIKRϽ NKϽ AGYINA – ONE HEAD DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A COUNCIL), which calls on all Independent Presidential Aspirants who genuinely believe that Ghana, has been raped beyond comprehension and who are not yet at the Roundtable, to come and participate in dialogue as equal partners.
Among the challenges enumerated by Dr. Kenneth Ofosu Barko to be tackled include, Ballot rigging, looting and sharing votes amongst the Dukadaya at polling stations and collation centers, elections being decided at the polling station, not the collation centers, the establishment and the implementing of principles that all election disputes are local grievances would be settled locally at the polling stations.
Others are, disputes emanating from the collating centers and the EC strong room to be deemed invalid as such disputes should have been resolved at the polling stations before the declaration of the polling station results as accepted and duly validated by the EC in situations, polling station results being ringfenced from abuse and corruption, ensuring that transparent vote tallying is used to validate results directly from polling stations at the EC “strong room”, electronically displayed and transmitted transparently live via television, radio, and billboards accessible by the media, press, and the public.
“Multiple tallying at the district and regional levels are subject to fraud and manipulation. EC-validated polling station results are transmitted directly to the EC strong room and announced to the nation as they are received, tabulated and declared per each cumulated constituency results, and ensuring free and fair elections for peaceful co-existence is a public duty. To achieve the above, we must know our support base across all the polling stations. We can only achieve this if we converge at the Roundtable and rob minds together at each polling station electoral area in all the constituencies across the country.”
“We can accomplish this because where there is the will, there is a way”.
The Roundtable Dialogue he disclosed, is currently having 14 groups that have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to continue working and studying together to attract all others, independent of the NPP/NDC and demanding change, in a bond like a broom tied together by a common thread of understanding to assemble a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with which to collectively enter the electoral race as the ALTERNATIVE that Ghanaians want.
“When all those free from NPP/NDC corruption, manipulation and control gather at the Roundtable and dialogue, consensus candidates for both the presidential and parliamentary elections will be unveiled for the 7th December 2024 elections”.
He called on all those independent of the NPP/NDC, demanding change, to set aside their ego, pride and personal ambitions and bond together like a broom to cleanse their Father’s House. “We must cleanse Our Father’s House of corruption, tribalism, mediocrity and licentiousness. From today, we must uphold our voting thumb as sacred that cannot be bribed or corrupted. It is with our sacred voting thumb that we will subdue and tie the two Goliath tormenting the land. It is in the national interest that we do so for peaceful co-existence”.
He finally called on the YOUTH, whom have seemingly been hypnotised by the NPP/NDC to get on board the fight for a brighter future.
“Don’t you know that you constitute the majority in this country? Is it not your votes that empower the politicians? Can’t you notice that joblessness is disempoweringand mediocre education is disempowerment? A society is on the verge of collapse when mostyouth wake up in the morning with nothing to look forward to. Only you can remove that sense of hopelessness in your eyes. Your VOTING THUMB is your power. Never again should you vote for politicians to disempower you. You are the majority and not the NPP”.
