Ward-Brew kicks against moves to expunge names from EC's books

Page 15
March 10, 2009

The Leader and Founder of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), Mr T.N. Ward-Brew, has kicked against any decision of the Electoral Commission (EC) to expunge the names of non-functioning political parties from its books.
Such a move, he said, would thwart efforts at building and sustaining the country’s democracy.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, he said, if the EC went ahead to implement that decision, he would rally the other smaller political parties to reject the decision.
At the Ashanti Regional Inter-Party Advisory Committee review meeting, a member of the commission, Mrs Pauline Adobea Dadzawa, said some political parties only existed in name and became dormant moments after elections, only to spring up during an election year.
She, therefore, hinted that the EC would expunge the names of non-functioning political parties from the books of the commission.
Mr Ward-Brew said the running of a political party was an expensive venture and that nothing should be done to discourage them from performing the role expected of them.
He said democracy was a process, and that the political parties contributing to sustain and build the country’s democracy needed to be supported and encouraged.
He said he would lead other smaller political parties to form an association to champion their cause and ensure that they were recognised.
During the first round of the general elections on December 7, 2008, the DPP secured 0.10 per cent of the total votes cast. The Reformed Patriotic Democrat (RPD) had 0.08 per cent while the Democratic Freedom Party had 0.33 per cent with the People’s National Convention having 0.87 per cent. An Independent candidate, Mr Kwasi Amoafo-Yeboah had 0.23 per cent of the total votes while the Convention People’s Party (CPP) had 1.34 per cent.
Mrs Dadzawa pointed out that while some of the political parties had functioning offices in all the regional capitals as well as zonal and district levels, “it is very difficult to trace the offices of some other political parties, and even the few ones dotted across the country are filled with coal pots, cooking utensils and other materials”.