From All-Die-Be-Die�Akufo-Addo Shifts Focus

Smarting from severe verbal blitzkrieg by the citizens of the country after his �all-die-be-die� political sermon, the flagbearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Addo Dankwa Akofu-Addo seemed to have had a change of heart on the impending 2012 elections and its aftermath. Addressing a press conference in Takoradi on Monday after his �listening tour�, Nana Addo said elections have become an integral part of our lives and we must avoid raising the political temperature of the nation whenever there is a national election adding that �elections should not be a threat to the survival of the nation�. Also, in a veiled rebuff of the recent incendiary comments from his party�s national Chairman that Ghana could go the way of Ivory Coast, the NPP flagbearer said the current democratic dispensation had brought economic and political stability in the country and we must sustain and protect our fledgling democracy and stop touting that Ghana would go the way of other warring African countries. He said the electoral system in Ghana had gone through improvement since 1992 and there was the need for continuous perfection of the electoral system. It will be recalled that on Tuesday February 8 this year, Nana Akufo-Addo told party supporters in the Eastern Region capital Koforidua that the NPP will not tolerate any attempts by members of the NDC to intimidate its members in the 2012 General Elections. According to Nana Addo, the NPP was founded with courageous and bold people who are ready to die for the party if need be to wrestle political power in 2012. He therefore called on the supporters to stand firm and defend themselves, declaring that �in 2012, we need to be courageous because �All Die be Die". But in Takoradi early this week, the 2012 flag bearer of the largest opposition party, NPP seemed to have shifted his focus about elections and violence when he told the media that the current democratic dispensation has brought economic and political stability in the country and we must sustain and protect our fledgling democracy and stop touting that Ghana would go the way of other warring African countries. Acknowledging that though electoral system in Ghana had gone through improvement since 1992, there was the need for continuous perfection of the electoral system, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo also expressed optimism that, the concerns raised by the party in the biometric registration process would be addressed in earnest. He said the biometric registration would enhance the quality of elections in the country, prevent multiple voting and avert potential conflict after the 2012 polls. Nana Akuffo Addo said the current state of the biometric voting system is vague and hoped that, the concerns put forward by the NPP and Inter-party Advisory Committee (IPAC) would be addressed by the EC as soon as possible.